Falling into Darkness
by darkestshadow
Summary: This takes place one year after the cell games. What if Goku's decision left an empty void in Gohan's heart? Gohan must struggle to deal with his feelings, while facing his hardest threat yet! OC Involved! R&R Please! Final Chapter is Up! Story Completed!
1. Gohan's Depression

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 1 **

**Gohan's Depression**

**Warning**: This fanfic does have angst to it, so if you're not a fan of angst, then don't view it please.

**Disclaimer**: This is a fic I've wanted to do for some time, but I had no idea how to make it believable until now, this is my interpretation of what would've happened over the seven year timeline we didn't see in DBZ, take it as you will.

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The skies were dark and murky, below them there was a rigid landscape, with hills showing up around them, a dirt surface covering their tops as well as the ground below. As the center of the ground appeared, there was a crater on the ground, not as gigantic as it had originally been, but the reminder of a pain that had been never-ending until this point. The wind blew slowly over the ground, and through the air, as if it had been slowed down by an invisible wall blocking it's path. In the midst of all this, a young kid landed on the ground, his hair styled normally except for at the front, where three bangs hang to the side, the hair was the color of black, he wore a blue gi, with blue gi pants, a red belt connecting the two, and two red wrist bands surrounding his wrists. His build wasn't too stocky, but was in between that of a boy's and that of a man's, his eyes were a solid black, but in them appeared an emptiness, a sign of a memory that had haunted him from the very moment it happened.

It had been one year since the cell games had ended, and Gohan once again found himself back in this peculiar place, this place that he hated the most in the world, a place he never thought he'd return to. His body was constantly dragging him back here, to this place where his father had died 1 year ago, he had died selflessly, and with a smile on his face. His decision was to remain dead, for the benefit of the earth his father had said, but Gohan had numerous questions running through his mind, questions that left a void in his heart. Did dad really not come back in order to keep the earth safe? Was daddy upset with me? Did he not come back because he wasn't proud of me? Gohan agonized himself with these questions endlessly, but he received no answer inside his heart that was beginning to fall into turmoil.

The young half saiyan warrior let out a shattered breath, as his body shook with a sob that never truly came out. He had cried all the tears his body could muster up, unable to pour out any more, or so he thought, as he found himself on his knees once again, his fists dug into the ground as he cried his heart out, the emptiness and loneliness once again creeping up on him. What seemed like an eternity had lasted only a moment, and Gohan finally pushed himself up off the ground. He looked at the sky, and decided it was probably time to turn in, for fear of his mother yelling at him for staying out past his curfew. He also had studies to keep up with, but he found it increasingly harder the more the void inside of him grew. As he flew across the barren land scape, it slowly fell into a wooded landscape, with trees littered across the ground below, only spaced out by the occasional house which came into view. Eventually finding his house from all the scattered houses below, he landed in front of it, but hesitated before opening up the door, fearing whatever wrath his mother might bring down on him.

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Elsewhere, another person was on a mountain near-by, by his size he was a lot taller than Gohan, the size of an adult. His skin was color coated green, and he had a white turban hat on, with pointy ears underneath it, his eyes were also a solid color black, and a long with similar style clothing to Gohan's, changing the color to a more purplish looking color, and both his belt color and wrist color being purple. His notable difference was that he had a white cape draped over his back, which flowed a long with the wind, and his boots were a brownish sort of color, pointed at the end, unlike Gohan's shoes. He watched the kind with a concerned look in his eye, he knew that Gohan had changed so much since his father's decision to remain dead. He did not foresee, however, that the change would be this great, Gohan died inside the day that his father died, stripped of his love of life completely from that point. The man standing on the mountain, the Namekian Piccolo let out a sigh, as he thought to himself, _'Goku.. I hope your decision was for the best.. it's left Gohan in a lot of misery.' _The Namekian feared for what might happen to his friend and student if he continued to spiral towards depression like this. He had no way of knowing exactly how to help Gohan, even if he knew the boy for so long.

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Finally making a decision, Gohan opened the door and stepped inside, shutting it as softly as he could, in the kitchen was a woman standing there, she had on a pink kimono with flowers draped over it, and her hair flew nicely down the side of her face, it also colored black. She was washing dishes making a humming sound to herself, her name is Chichi. Gohan looked at his mother, and he let out a faint smile, as he said out loud to her "Hi mom!"

Chichi had turned around in a start, but calmed down when she saw it was Gohan, she took a small breath and smiled back at her oldest son, the baby boy Goten now in his cradle, fast asleep, but his look similar to Goku by his hair. Chichi respond to her son's reply, "Hi Gohan, you've been out again I see, well, I'm just about to finish cooking dinner, why don't you go to your room and wait for me to finish it?" Gohan simply nodded at his mom, and walked into his room, shutting the door behind him. Something in Chichi jolted her for a moment, she could feel that her son had become a different person, but she truly felt as if she was loosing him, she took note that the cheerful look in his face had gone as of late, and his grades in his studies had slipped. Even though she was a natural freak about Gohan doing his studies, she had decided to cut off to give him time to get over his father's death, however even the studies she wanted him to do, his grades were slacking. She knew this was unusual behavior for Gohan, not like his usual self since he always dedicated himself to his studies. She tossed these thoughts from her mind for now, focusing on getting her dinner to her son, later she would discuss the matter with Bulma.

Gohan found his thoughts racing through his head again as he sat on his bed looking on the window. He couldn't bring himself to concentrate on his studies right now, instead focusing yet again on the emptiness inside. Then a sudden emotion jolted him, an emotion he hadn't felt in what seemed like months. Anger was the word for it, but he had never felt this kind of anger before, it was a burning anger that caused him to let our a strangled breath, he knew what this anger was and where it was directed. It was directed towards himself, created by his mind because he blamed himself for his father's death. He perked up when he heard the door open and Chichi walked into the room, tray in hand with a snack and some juice on it. Gohan smiled and thanked his mother, and she carefully left the room, closing the door behind him. With his mom gone, and his dinner having finally settled, he laid down to try and get some sleep for the night, knowing full well that tomorrow was just going to be another day of his pain.

Chichi knew she had to talk to Bulma about it, or Krillin. She tried to imagine the two, the blue haired, but slightly older looking Bulma, with her firm curved figure and her rather large chest, her blue eyes which blared out a radiation of pride and happiness. Then she went to imagining Krillin, the bald headed companion who was Goku's best friend, he had large brown spots on his head, and he was constantly laughing, his black eyes never looking unhappy, but always afraid or scared from time to time. She decided to talk to Bulma about it first, Bulma was usually good with these kind of things, reaching up for the phone she dialed the number to Capsule Corp, and was greeted with a message that told her to please hold while she was transferred to Bulma. It seemed like it took forever, but eventually she heard Bulma's voice on the other line, "Hello, ChiChi?"

Chichi sighed with relief, and responded to Bulma, "Yes, Bulma, I wanted to talk to you about Gohan."

Bulma blinked, she had never usually received a called from Chichi about Gohan, but she knew it was serious, "Yes, Chichi, go on, what is it?"

ChiChi fought to battle back tears in her eyes, hot stinging tears, as she replied to Bulma the best she could, "I don't know Bulma.. it seems like he's not coping so well with his father's decision.. it feels like he's getting more and more distant.."

"There, there ChiChi," Bulma tried to reassure ChiChi, "He's probably just in a state of grief right now, he'll get over it eventually."

ChiChi let out a frustrated sigh, "No Bulma, I don't think he's going to get over this so easily.. Gohan's father was his life, he hasn't even so much as looked happy ever since, and his grades are slipping further, I think he's blaming himself, but I have no idea how to help him if he doesn't open up."

The first part of ChiChi's speech caught Bulma's attention, she quirked a brow from the other line. It was not like Gohan to falter in his grades on his studies, especially since ChiChi had slacked back on them. She knew that it had to be because Gohan was unable to concentrate on them, instead giving more focus to his feelings. She of coursed wondered what these feelings were, but again tried to reassure ChiChi, "He may just be trying to sort out his feelings right now ChiChi, listen, you should get some rest for tonight, if nothing changes over the next few days let me know.."

ChiChi sighed, Bulma was probably right, Gohan probably was just having trouble sorting out his feelings, "Thanks Bulma, that's reassuring to know, I'll head off to sleep now, Good night" she clicked the phone back to it's receiver, and headed off up to her room to sleep.

Bulma meanwhile, was left in her own thoughts as she put the phone down on her receiver. She wondered how well Gohan really was coping with this. A part of her was afraid that Gohan might have such a deep void that it was forcing him to turn inward towards himself, and away from all his other friends. She couldn't bare to see the image of the kid with hatred in her eyes in her head, but she knew that that scenario was what would likely happen. She closed her eyes, and put her head down on her desk, one thought running through her mind, _'Oh kid.. I would give up my life if it meant your dad could be here for you right now.'_

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Around the corner, a short, but somewhat stocky man, with his hair spiked upward, a point at the top, colored black. He constantly had a cold, hard look on his face the majority of the time, but right now his look was more of concern, if only slight. He had on a blue muscle shirt, and blue pants, white gloves covering his hands, his eyes a solid black, his arms crossed over his chest, the crux of his foot against the wall. He closed his eyes, he had slowly come to... care was the word he was looking for. He had slowly come to care over the years for Kakarot's son, even if only a minor bit. His was the Saiyan Prince Vegeta, who usually was cold to everyone, but thanks to Kakarot and Gohan''s influence, he had began to settle down slowly, but was still having a hard time getting used to his job as family. He looked out the window, wondering to himself, _'Kakarot, how well off was this decision of yours? You may have jeopardized the earth more than saved it..'_ Vegeta hoped his premonition was wrong, but judging by the feelings he had heard from Gohan, they were similar to his own after his father died. These feelings had led him to become power hungry, arrogant, cocky, and a ruthless murderer. He couldn't imagine Kakarot's son the same way.

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The Namekian Piccolo, who was standing on the hill earlier, had sat down to try and mediate, but was having no luck, as his thoughts kept running back to the half saiyan in his bed. He wondered how Gohan was doing, and if he was actually sleeping peacefully. A part of him wanted to believe he was, but the other part knew he wasn't. Piccolo was usually prepared to face any battle with Gohan, this battle was no exception, the only difference was, this was a battle for a soul, not a battle for a life like he had anticipated Piccolo knew Goku had escaped relatively unharmed in his death, he had a body and was able to do what he wished with it. Gohan was sentenced to a life of self-deprivation and anger, he was the hardest hit by the events that had happened. Piccolo closed his eyes, and went back to his meditation, unaware of the disaster that was taking place right before his eyes, in the mind of a little boy who only wanted to see his father.

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**Author's Notes**: What's this, a disaster taking place? What's going on inside of Gohan's mind that Piccolo doesn't see? How will Vegeta become involved in the situation?

**Author's Preview**: Hey guys! Just a glimpse at what's happening a head of time, Krillin's going to be dragged into the plot somehow. Expect an emotional event between Gohan and ChiChi to happen, and Vegeta will likely have a confrontation with the half Saiyan, that leaves him with some unpleasant feelings. Be sure to keep up-to-date.


	2. Explosion of Rage

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 2 **

**Explosion of Rage**

**Disclaimer**:The next chapter to this series of mine, I'm feeling pretty good about it. Again, I don't own Dragonball Z or it's characters. They are all owned by Akira Toriyama

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Gohan aroused in his bed, and was jolted by a feeling of burning anger, some hatred mixed in. Gohan let out a sigh, it was morning outside, he could tell by the sunlight showing through the window. Gohan tried to fight the feelings inside of him, but to no avail, these feelings would obviously not calm down at all, and nothing Gohan could do could make them calm down either. He feared of what would happen if his mom started bickering at him from the glass he broke last night while trying to get a drink of water, so he grabbed his gi and other clothing, and quickly redressed in them. He knew he had to hurry, but as he jolted out the door of his room, he was frozen by his mother's voice, "Running off so soon, Gohan?"

He knew that tone in her voice, but he was in no mood to have it today, he was in a bad mood, and he didn't have time to deal with his mom's incessant nagging about a minor mistake he made. He turned to give a ferocious glare to his mother, which caused her to become shocked, and his voice spoke out in an icy cold chill, "What does it matter to you where I'm going?" He continued to glare his mother down.

ChiChi was fuming at this point, she wasn't going to tolerant this behavior, she exploded on Gohan, "How dare you talk to your mother like that?! Didn't I teach you any manners?! You don't disrespect your mother like that!" ChiChi was huffing and puffing, and she continued to mention other little mistakes Gohan had made, such as breaking the dishes, or pictures that were on the walls, are irreplaceable items. Gohan couldn't take this anymore, he stormed towards the door, and ChiChi yelled after him "Gohan, come back here! I'm not done talking with you!"

Gohan didn't even look back over his shoulder, he just shot back at her "That's tough! Cause I'm done listening to your outbursts!" With that he took off to the air, flying as fast as he could away from the house. The Namekian Piccolo had flown down to see what the commotion was about, and was surprised Gohan and his mother locked into an argument. He watched as Gohan flew off, and walked over to ChiChi, the first question out of his mouth was the hardest, "What happened?"

ChiChi watched her son fly off with tears in her eyes, she knew she was loosing him now, Gohan's anger was beginning to show itself. She turned to the Namek, and let out a shaky sigh, before she spoke in a low voice, "I yelled at him over something stupid, I didn't expect him to react like that.." She looked down to the ground, threatening to spill a river of tears, but the Namekian put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"That's not how Gohan should act, we should leave him alone for a bit." The Namekian reassured ChiChi, and she gave him a faint smile, and a nod. Gohan vanished into the distance, away from the house, and away from home. ChiChi inevitably needed someone who could track Gohan without getting caught by him, and a person she knew well who could do that was Krillin. She picked up the phone, and dialed the nuimber to Master Roshi's, Krillin's voice responded on the other in, "Hello, Roshi's house."

"Oh good, Krillin it's you," ChiChi chimed with a small amount of hope in her voice, but a huge amount of sadness, "I need you to follow Gohan for me, and make sure he's okay."

Krillin blinked on the other end, he didn't know of anything that could be of danger to Gohan, except himself. That last thought hit a lightbulb in Krillin's head, and he remembered that Gohan was coping with his father's death, "ChiChi, what happened?"

ChiChi explained to him how Gohan's grades slowly deteriorated, and how eventually he didn't talk very much anymore, then she told Krillin how he exploded today, this last bit of information worried Krillin greatly. He knew if Gohan got into a huge depression, it could lead to much bigger problems on down the road.

"I'll look for him, ChiChi," The baldheaded close friend of Krillin reassured her, "I'll make sure nothing serious happens, or that he doesn't do anything stupid." With that he hung up the phone, and proceeded to get ready to go track Gohan.

Gohan continued his long, aimless flight, until he came over the stop of the location of where the Cell Games arena had used to be. He flew down, and landed on the ground, and he looked at it for one small moment, for he fell to his knees, and once again dug his hands into the ground. He had been spending more time than usual late, despite the onset of physical pain it brought him, let alone the emotional pain, but there was something else in trace amounts, it brought a sort of clarity of to him, and that clarity he craved the most, even if it was only an imagination in his mind.

Vegeta had been flying around for sometime, before he came across the young demi saiyan, sitting on a hill area overlooking the old arena. Vegeta pondered as to why Gohan would be here, but became visibly shaken by the look of hatred in the eyes of the kid. Never had he seen this in the kid's eyes before, he hadn't even given it a thought. What could have possibly made this kid so angry? Vegeta needed to satisfy his curiosity, so he flew down until he had landed behind Gohan.

Gohan perked his head up at the familiar ki signal, he looked behind him to see the Prince of all Saiyans standing there, he narrowed his eyes a little, "What are you doing here, Vegeta?" he spat out at the Prince.

Vegeta also narrowed his eyes, "Wondering exactly what you're doing here, Kid." He spat back at Gohan with the same kind of coldness Gohan had given him.

Gohan turned to look back towards the sky in front of him, letting out a small sigh, he slowly said aloud, "I need to get away from some things, that's all."

Vegeta had heard those words before, he said them to himself when he was a kid who had lost his father, he closed his eyes, unsure of what to say to the young half saiyan, he was never good with comforting people before, he heard Gohan stand up and saw that he was ready to take off again, "Where will you go now?" was all the arrogant Prince said.

Gohan turned to look back at Vegeta, but was unaffected by the small amount of concern that Vegeta had in his eyes, even if it did surprise him a little bit on the inside, since he had never thought the Saiyan Prince actually had feelings. He turned to look out one last time, before responding to Vegeta's question, "I don't know.. wherever this shattered mind of mine takes me.." With those words, Gohan flew off from the battlefield, and towards a city in the distance.

Vegeta watched as Gohan flew away, he was visibly affected by what Gohan had just said. He was concerned by the amount of anger that was hidden behind the voice of Kakarot's kid. He knew that if Gohan continued like this, his anger would consume him, and leave him a life full of hatred and anger, probably his only solace being power. At least that's how he had ended up, living a life full of anger and hatred, power being the only comfort he could find. He couldn't imagine Kakarot's son like that, but the evidence was clearly there, it was happening right before his eyes, and there wasn't anything he could possibly do to stop it.

He looked up to the sky, looking for a sign, anything, with one thought running through his mind, _'Kakarot.. are you sure your decision was the right decision?'_ Vegeta gave a small sigh, he opened his eyes and powered up, taking off in flight back towards Capsule Corp. His thoughts however, continued running otjver the way Gohan was acting . He sped up his flight as he tried to clear his mind of the thoughts, but the foreboding feeling of what was to come remained.

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Elsewhere Krillin was in flight, following Gohan's powerful ki signal, he made sure to stay far enough away so as not to be detected by the kid, but close enough to see him in sight. He had seen the demi saiyan speak with Vegeta, and watched as Vegeta flew off in the opposite direction, with a troubled look on his face. Krillin didn't even want to imagine what Gohan had said that troubled the cold-hearted Prince so greatly. He kept quiet in his position of flight, and watched as Gohan landed on a mountain side just beside the city, he could see the look of pain behind Gohan's eyes, but couldn't think of any way to help. He tried to keep himself in the low, when suddenly he saw Piccolo approaching. Krillin wondered what he was up to, but watched as the Namekian landed in front of Gohan, and prepared to confront the half saiyan.

Piccolo and Gohan got into a face to face stare off, Gohan's look had softened towards his old tutor, which Piccolo was thankful for, but he had no idea what he was going to say to the half saiyan. He waited, and then opened his mouth to speak to Gohan, but then hesitated a moment. Gohan saw this hesitation, but said nothing in return, he waited to hear exactly what his mentor had to say to him. He knew it wasn't going to be pretty, and he didn't want to hear it, but he also didn't want to disrespect the man who had trained him and befriended him. Piccolo finally opened his mouth, and he said the only thing that was on his mind, "Gohan, why are you doing this?"

Gohan blinked rapidly, wondering what Piccolo was talking about. He had no idea what his former tutor had meant, all he was trying to do was to free himself from his agonizing pain. Gohan closed his eyes for a moment, before opening them to look at Piccolo again. He stared at his tutor for a long time, unsure of exactly what he should say to him. He searched his feelings, but could find no direct answer to that question, so he answered Piccolo honestly, "I'm trying to free myself.."

Piccolo was visibly affected by what Gohan had said to him. He looked at his student, unsure of how to respond to that statement, but he knew he was running out of time. If he didn't come up with something to say, he was sure Gohan's attention span would start to thin, and he would eventually take off again. As Piccolo continued pondering on what to say, Krillin watched from overhead, wondering if either of them would make a violent move towards each other. As the question ran in his head, a crackle of thunder flashed in the background, illuminating the area, lighting both Piccolo's and Gohan's faces up, and sending a chill up Krillin's spine as Gohan's face showed a look of anger. Krillin waited for the next person to speak, hoping the Namek could get through to his best friend's son..

**Author's Notes**: Piccolo finally confronts Gohan about his feelings, but the conversation takes an unexpected turn. Unsure of how to help his student, where should he go from here? And what will Krillin do in response to the current situation?

**Author's Preview**: Hey guys, just giving you guys some heads up on what to expect in the next chapter. Gohan and Piccolo's conversation will come to a conclusion in the most unexpected way, and an unexpected visitor will make an appearance in the next chapter! Keep in touch guys.


	3. Fall from Grace

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 3 **

**Fall from Grace**

**Disclaimer**: The third part of the story. In this part Piccolo and Gohan's conversation is going to end, and Krillin is left unsure of what to do. Vegeta suddenly makes a u-turn, and heads off to face Gohan again. Also, our unexpected visitor shows up!

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The clap of thunder was loud, it echoed and reverberated off the ground in which it struck, the light of the strike illuminating Gohan's and Piccolo's face. Krillin floated in the air, breathless as he watched the confrontation that was taking place below him. He was hoping this wouldn't end violently, but something at the back of his mind assured him it would likely end in a violent manner. Not that the kid would actually kill his mentor, he knew Gohan well, but Gohan might injure Piccolo a bit. Piccolo bit his lip as he faced the most powerful person in the world down, he opened his mouth again to speak, "Trying to free yourself? Gohan, that's what were here for, to help you free yourself, to help you get rid of your pain."

Gohan looked down to the ground for a second, his eyes seemed to show like they were calculating what Piccolo had said, but they once again took on an angry appearance, and Gohan narrowed his eyes, and he rasped out in a icy voice, "What would you know about me Piccolo?" His breathing was taking on an erratic form as he waited for the Namekian's response.

Piccolo stared Gohan down confidently, not because he could beat him, he knew that was out of the question, but because he had expected Gohan to take this course of action, but he opened his mouth once again to speak, "I know you're blaming yourself Gohan, I don't want to see you do that."

The plea had fallen on deaf ears, Gohan's eyes rapidly blinked, the confused look on his face was apparent. He once again spoke is his cold voice, "What are you talking about Piccolo? Why would I blame myself for my father's death?!"

Piccolo smiled sadly, he knew the young warrior was putting all his anger onto himself. He could tell by the look in Gohan's eyes that he was trying to turn inside of himself, to push everyone away and feed on his anger, he did not like the thought of this, and he spoke in a gentle tone, "Because you're pushing everyone away from you..."

Bang! Piccolo was cut off by a swift punch to his stomach, followed by a kick, then a small ki blast, which sent him flying back about 10 meters or so, he nearly landed on a mountain, but managed to right himself, and stared directly at Gohan, who was trying to calm himself down, his hard and erratic breaths made it apparent that he had not anticipated that move.

Gohan looked hard at Piccolo, and then he yelled out "How could you accuse me of that Piccolo?!" With those words the warrior took off to the skies, flying past Piccolo and Krillin. Krillin was floating above the incident with a shocked look on his face. He couldn't believe that Gohan had actually just attacked his mentor and friend in a heat of rage. Krillin knew now the extent of what was wrong with Gohan, and understood why Vegeta had a troubled look on his face when he was flying back towards Capsule Corp.

Back at the son house, ChiChi had a foreboding feeling of what had happened. She knew her son had done something to Piccolo, but what it was she would have no true idea of knowing, until the Namekian had returned, she hoped he would tell her about it, but she had a feeling that the Namekian wouldn't open up to her out of fear of helping her.

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Vegeta was flying through the night sky, staring up at the stars in the sky, he still had his mind on the boy who had talked to him earlier. He felt a jolt start through him as he stopped a moment, he turned to look back in the direction the boy had taken off in. He felt the Namekian's ki and realized Piccolo was trying to talk to the boy. Vegeta scoffed, _'No use in trying that Piccolo, it's not going to get you anywhere,'_ The Saiyan Prince thought to himself. He took off again towards capsule corp, approaching west city when he stopped, making a firm decision, he decided to take off back towards the Half Saiyan. The wind blew in the silence, marking the spot where the Saiyan Prince was just floating.

Bulma, who was in capsule corp had noticed Vegeta floating up in the air. She watched as he sat there to make a decision, and then flew off in another direction. A part of her told her that the prince had met with Gohan, and he was flying back off in that direction to confront Gohan about his feelings. She hoped things wouldn't go too badly for Vegeta, but she couldn't help except wonder what the half saiyan had been up to at the time. What had Vegeta seen in Gohan that made him have to go back to the kid. How would their talk turn out, and would Vegeta come back uninjured to her?

She sat down and sighed, all she could do at this point was to wait. She didn't want Vegeta to do some of the things he did, though she knew she couldn't help but go a long with whatever he had in mind. If anyone was as stubborn as Gohan could be sometimes, it was Vegeta, maybe he would be able to break through the emotional barrier she was sure Gohan was putting up around himself. She was sure of one thing, if Gohan's barrier continued to wrap around himself, things were definitely going to go for the worst.

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Off in another realm, a pink sky floated up at the top, with clouds on to the side of it, and the sight of a road in the distance in the middle of the clouds. As the road gets closer, there are what appear to be spikes on the side of it, and it appears to look like the scales of a snake. We are brought down this road slowly, to the end of it where it's tail is found, cutting off at a round platform. A huge building is shown to be looming over this road, it two circular formations, being held together by pillars found every so often. At the tops of the formations are golden roof top, and at the very bottom is an entry way, where balls of white objects are flowing into them. This place is known as King Yemma's place. Inside was a very large, hulking man with black hair flowing down the sides of his face, and his skin was pink. He had two large horns coming out of his head, and he looked more like the overlord of the place. His suit was blue, and was well suited, he looked to have a high ranking job, and a high ranking job he had, for this man was King Yemma himself.

As he hummed to himself softly, the old man decided to have a look through his files, he came across Son Gohan, the son of Son Goku, the hero who had saved his planet one too many times to count for Yemma's care. The specification of the soul caught his attention, it was an endangered soul, a soul that was threatened to be lost. Yemma had no idea how this could have happened, but decided he would have to give this attention a very special matter. He decided to call for the only person he knew of who could help in this situation.

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Off on a planet, also surrounded by the pink sky, it was blue in nature like the earth. The ground on the planet had green grass, and the pathways were similar to the ground seen on the snake like road, which was soft by it's nature, but a brick-like substance. Sounds of loud explosions came from a distance on the planet, and trees were blocking the path of seeing the warrior. However, the warrior came into view, red round like things on his arms, he was training himself to push beyond his limits. He had on an orange gi, and his pants were orange as well. He wore a blue belt, and blue wrists, and underneath the gi a navy blue weight shirt. He was stocky like Vegeta, but much taller and a bit more muscular. His hair was shaped in a much similar way to Gohan's, except for a few additional spikes that spread off to the side, his bangs mostly fell into his face. His eyes were a solid black, and he looked to be enjoying himself.

Another, much smaller man approached him. He had a black cap like thing on his head, and he wore what looked to be black royalty clothing, with some golden features mixed in. He was much more round in his nature, in fact his whole body seemed to be round, minus his feet he used to walk on. He wore glasses over his eyes, and had a symbol on his chest, which said King Kai, this same symbol was on the back of the man's Gi. The man looked up at the person training, and cleared his throat, then he prepared to speak, "Ahem, Goku, I believe there may be some problems on earth that you might want to look into."

The man, Goku, turned to look back towards the Kai, and he blinked, noting the seriousness in the face of the person who had taught him all he needed to fight the Saiyans so long ago. He nodded at the Kai, "I understand, what's the problem?"

The Kai would yet Yemma explain the details, he merely said, "King Yemma wishes to see you, he will explain the details to you."

Goku nodded, and put a hand on the Kai's shoulder, he searched out Yemma's ki, and then teleported away using his Instant Transmission technique. Within moments he was in front of Yemma's desk, and he stared up at the hulking giant, a smile on his visage, and he waved, "Hi, King Yemma!" The naive, but adult warrior yelled out. The serious look on Yemma's visage, however, threw him off.

The pink giant let out a sigh, he nodded to Goku, and then he opened his mouth to speak, "Goku, I have some news to tell you, it's bad news, and I know you're the only one who can do something about this."

Goku tilted his head naively at the giant, he had no idea what kind of task would be given to him that only he could handle. He knew his son was the strongest in the universe, and then that brought him to a memory from long ago.

_Long ago, he had said he would stay in otherworld to keep the planet and everyone else on it safe. He remembered that day well, he was standing on snake way with King Kai, talking to the others, he remembered his exact words._

_"Hey guys, don't I get a say in this?" He asked the others, each responding his name, and he said "Yeah, you guys guessed it, it's me! Look, I've been doing some thinking, and I realized that, all the villains who attacked the earth have been after me. Think about it, Raditz, Frieza, The Androids, Cell, they were all after me."_

_He heard Yamcha's response, "I guess, but where's he going with this?" after Tien said he had a point._

_He continued on with his speech, "I think it would be better if you guys didn't wish me back, King Kai agrees with me," he paused for a minute as the blue man interrupted him with a rough "Sort of."_

_"Ever since I was a Saiyan baby, my mission was to destroy the earth," Goku continued on with his speech, calmness in his voice, "I was sent to the earth to destroy, and even though my life's work has been to do the opposite, it's kind of like I've been doing that this entire time," Goku made a pause, then continued on, "So yeah, I'm gonna stay here this time, I don't really mind, I'll get special treatment, I'll be able to keep my body, and there's lots of interesting people to meet."_

_Goku paused again in his speech, and then finally continued onward, "I guess what I'm trying to say is, thank you guys for your feelings for me, but this is my home now." He had not missed his son look down at the ground, and he smiled, and continued, "Besides, Gohan's so strong now, I have nothing left to teach him," he paused for a moment_

_"But that still doesn't mean I don't need you," He had not ignored his son's response, but instead chose to continue onward_

_"You all better take notes of everything that happens if your life, cause when their finished I'll wanna hear all about them, until then goodbye," Goku cut off his connection with the others._

Coming back to reality, Goku had wondered now, was his decision such a great choice, well, his question was about to be answered, Yemma was going to give him that much information. He let out a shaky breath as he waited to hear the non permanent verdict on his son's soul, he was sure that was what Yemma had called him here to talk to him about. Yemma looked through his papers one last time, then looked up at Goku, and prepared to give him his speech about Gohan.

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**Author's Notes**: Goku is brought before Yemma to be given a verdict on his son? And why did Vegeta take off back towards Gohan? What kind of plans does he have? Will Krillin continue following Gohan, or will he give up and head back? And what new threat lurks in the heart of our young half saiyan? Oh, and you guessed it, Goku is the unexpected visitor, none of the others know that he's probably regretting his decision now!

**Author's Preview**: So, Yemma will finally give Goku the news about his son, even though he has a foreboding feeling. Piccolo will confront Dende to start his own plan to help Gohan, and the Prince will have another encounter with the young half saiyan, that will end in an unexpected and twisted turn of events. The next chapter will be packed full of drama and angst for sure, so just wait, and expect some action in it as well! Until then, chow!


	4. Saiyan Bonds

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 4 **

**Saiyan Bonds**

**Disclaimer: **So this is the fourth chapter to my fanfiction. I hope you guys enjoy it, and as always, I don't own any of the characters in Dragonball, they are owned by Akira Toriyama.

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The big hulking King Yemma cleared his throat, and gave a hard swallow as he faced Goku. He closed his eyes a moment, before opening them up, and beginning his speech, "Goku, I'm afraid I have some very bad news to tell you about your son, it seems your decision has effected him more than you might have wanted it to, all of us here are wondering if it was even for the best," the Giant paused for a moment, allowing the Saiyan hero to allow everything to sink in, then he continued on in a dire voice, "I'm afraid that if this is to keep up, your son may be threatened by the very grasp of hell its self, I know this might be hard for you to bear, but your son needs you at this point, there's no way around it."

The Saiyan warrior let the information sink into his head, he had a firm but concerned look on his face, he finally looked up to Yemma and spoke, "Do we have a plan on how we might be able to help him?" He sincerely hoped that Yemma would say yes, if anything he wanted his son to be happy again, that mattered more to him than the actual safety of earth.

Yemma looked at the Saiyan, and nodded, he spoken in a rough voice, "Yes, we do have a plan Goku, at the most, we'll have to send you back to Earth for a day, or even more we'll have to permanently wish you back, but for now we'll set up a connection between you and Gohan through King Kai at some point, I need to finish working on those arrangements."

Goku nodded as he looked at the blue man, then he looked down the ground, wondering what his son Gohan was up to right now. He wouldn't have been able to have forseen these events happening, and he let out a low sigh. He couldn't believe how much he had let his son down, he had let him down to the point where he was lost, and couldn't find his way out of it, despite having saved the world.

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Piccolo had left the scene, with Krillin flying after him. Krillin had caught up with Piccolo, and intended to ask him what he was planning, but he decided not to say anything yet, fearing he might upset the Namekian's wrath. Piccolo continued flying at a fast pace, with Krillin on tail, just by a hair. He noticed the long pole that extended upwards to the circular place known as Korin's tower. As they flew up it, the circular building came into view, with pillars surrounding it, a long with a railing. On the floor was a basement that extended into the interior of the tower, as they flew up they passed Korin, a white cat with a pink nose and whiskers extending outward, he was holding a staff, and Yajirobe, a fat guy wearing an orange suit, a black belt surrounding it and a sword snapped to it. His hair was typically long and traveled down his back slightly, and he had a mustache with lowered eyes to indicate he was usually always annoyed. They continued flying up until they reached another circular area, painted read underneath it, it had a long red pole extending up to it. In the center it was more of a caramel color, followed by the top, which was a pure white brick like floor. In the middle of this was a large building, having three or four places extending from it, yellow roof tops, multiple mini pillars, and a huge amount of windows. In the entry way, a young man, looking a lot like Piccolo except smaller in size, and not wearing a cape, but wearing white robes and carrying a staff, emerged, a long side him a black skinned man, with red fish lips and black solid eyes, he had on an Arabian rich style head covering, in the center of that a blue diamond that reflected anything on it. He wore typically a red covering and white pants, a long with yellow boots. Piccolo nodded at both of them, and readied himself to tell them his exact plan.

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Vegeta had transformed into a Super Saiyan state, a golden aura surrounding him, his eyes blue and his hair golden, his muscles more pumped. He was in a rush, and was closing in on Gohan fast. He had an intent to try to get through to Gohan, but he had a feeling that it would end in quite the bad way. He saw the young boy in front of him as a dot, but he quickly came into view as Vegeta closed in faster. Gohan turned around in a start as Vegeta stopped right in front of him, transforming back into his normal state. Gohan blinked, wondering what the Saiyan Prince wanted with him this time.

The wind blew across the sky, moving the clouds across it as Vegeta stared down the strongest person in the universe. He let a hard gulp slide down his throat, he didn't know if he was capable of beating Gohan in a physical fight, but he knew that's where this was going to head. He wanted to turn around and leave, but he had made up his mind to do it like this. If Gohan couldn't get rid of his anger himself, Vegeta would have to help him, or at least, he though it would be helping.

Gohan narrowed his eyes at Vegeta, anticipating what the Prince was already thinking, without a second though his muscles pumped up slightly, and the golden aura of Super Saiyan surrounded him. He could see the change in Vegeta's appearance, and he watched as Vegeta also powered back into Super Saiyan mode. Vegeta thought to himself, _'This is the only way I can think of to help, Kid, it's my way of helping.'_

Vegeta was the first to charge forth, in a blinding flash of light to the normal human eye, he left a huge burst of wind from his charge, which knocked into a hill side, causing it to crumble, as he speed up to Gohan, he cocked his fist back and through a full on punch at full force, however Gohan quickly dodged to the side, he moved his fist back slowly as he did, and nailed Vegeta in the gut with a hard punch, then he extended his foot back, kicking him in the face, which caused him to go flying back towards another hill side. Gohan extended his hand out, and a glow formed in it. He let the ball of ki shoot outward from his hand, Vegeta unable to stop himself braced himself for the attack, and the blast hit him square on, creating an explosion that blew up the entire hill side, and left an ensuing wall of smoke coming up from the ground, floating into the air. Gohan took a moment to catch his breath, but he was sure the Saiyan Prince would not be so easily put down by something like that.

The smoke cleared, and the Saiyan prince was standing, a few cuts and scratches on him, but he was other wise not too injured by the blast. He knew the fight wouldn't turn out so well for him, he knew how much stronger Gohan was than him, but he figured if he could be the person Gohan would turn his anger on, he didn't care much about that at this point.

The Saiyan Prince flared back up into the air at Gohan, he began to throw a combination of high placed and low placed punch, aiming for Gohan's abdomen, stomach, chest, face, and sides, as well as a few kicks that would have been well placed where they were aimed, Gohan blocked a few of the first punches, but the other punches and kicks nailed Gohan in his side, stomach, and chin, and Vegeta kicked the young half saiyan down toward the ground, however, Gohan being his super powered self quickly stopped, and he charged back up towards Vegeta, Vegeta tried to block the oncoming punch, but a well placed roundhouse kick sent him flying through a mountain, and then crashing into another one, causing the mountain to cave in on top of him. Gohan brought his hands back, placing them at his sides, and he yelled out the infamous words of Goku's prized technique, "KA...ME..."

A blue ki beam charged up between Gohan's hands, and it grew bigger to fit the gap as he powered it up, Vegeta used his ki to blow up the mountain around him, but heard Gohan as he screamed the final words of his attack, "HA...ME..." The Saiyan Prince looked up in shock as he heard the final word, "HAAAAA!!!!!!!!!" and saw the blue beam release from Gohan's hands, heading straight for him, he barely managed a well placed super speed dodge to the side, which left only an after image of him in the place he was. The blast ensnared the area where Vegeta once was, creating a high powered blue explosion that rippled the area around it, and sent shockwaves radiating outward. As the smoke rising up from the blast hit began to clear, it was evident that a crater was in the ground, though not nearly as big as the one at the Cell Games, it was about the size of a small meteor hitting the ground.

Vegeta hardly had time to look up, when Gohan appeared behind him at Super Speed, delivering a swift kick to the abdomen of Vegeta, followed by a punch to the side of his face which sent him flying. The Prince knew at this point that he was totally and completely outclassed by Gohan. Gohan launched another ki blast at Vegeta, the explosion was much greater than the one before, and it nailed Vegeta head on with an impact. The Young Half Saiyan waited nearly breathlessly for the smoke to clear, he didn't want to kill Vegeta out of rage, heck he didn't even want to kill him at all, but he also wanted Vegeta to know clearly that he was the superior fighter here.

The smoke cleared, and Vegeta dug his hands into the ground, he was struggling to get up this time. Gohan watched him closely, awaiting the next move that Vegeta would throw at him, confident and calculating, knowing he could probably counter it. Vegeta finally managed to get back on his feet, and he spit out a tooth, his breathing become heavy as he looked at the young warrior. He had to think of a plan fast, but as quickly as that idea came to mind, it left him, he knew no plan he could make would outsmart Gohan, the kid's intelligence was much too great for that to happen.

Vegeta narrowed his eyes for a second, then spun a quick charge at Gohan, but Gohan ducked low of the punch, and slammed Vegeta with a kick to his gut, then he proceeded to place 5 hard punches to Vegeta's face and jaw, and then he blasted Vegeta back with another ki blast, which slammed him hard into the mountain side, Gohan charged in and kicked Vegeta through the mountain side, into the ground, before he jumped back and landed. His breathing was starting to get erratic as his emotions began to sway out of control, Vegeta knew this fight was becoming too dangerous for him. He realized that he had only fueled the fire for Gohan's anger, instead of quelling it like he had intended to from the very start. Gohan charged the Prince of Saiyans once again, and delivered an accidental fatal kick to the side, which crushed a few of Vegeta's ribs, and caused him to cough up some blood as he fell to his knees.

Gohan jumped back, his visage showed the look of shock on his face. The injuries however, mattered little as the Saiyan prince rose to his feet, laughing weakly, "That was a well placed kick, Kid."

Gohan moved backwards slightly, still in shock, but he managed in a shaky voice, "W-why..? Why did you come here to start this, Vegeta?"

Vegeta smirked a little bit, he didn't want to answer the Kid's question, so he merely said, "I came here to see what you were up to, I ended up being a little more curious than usual."

Gohan's eyes widened, he knew the Saiyan Prince was trying to help him channel his anger, even though he wouldn't admit it. Powering up, the Half Saiyan took off, in even more grief now that he had injured Vegeta so badly. He flew as fast as he could away from the battlefield and towards another city, the breaths he took sounded strangled, and tears threatened to come out of his eyes. The void in his heart only grew even wider, instead of closing up.

Vegeta realized the harm that was done, he knew that he had only widened the wound inside of Gohan's heart. He cursed himself mentally for making such a mistake, he should've known Gohan injuring anyone badly wasn't going to cheer him up. He looked up to the sky, a small sign of concern showing on his visage, as he thought to himself, _'Kakarot, I can't do anymore, the rest of this will be left up to you, if you know what's going on.' _The Saiyan Prince took to flight again for a small moment, but only got 15 feet before he had to drop and rest. He looked off into the distance, and watched as the clouds began to roll in.. A big storm was coming, and it was coming fast.

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**Author's Notes**: What's this?! Vegeta's attempt to help has made matters worse! What is Piccolo's plan in an attempt to help Gohan? And what does the big storm that Vegeta is referring to mean? Next chapter will tell it all!

**Author's Preview**: Hey guys! Guess what, in the next chapter, Goku finally has his first conversation with the broken Gohan! However, the conversation seems to take a deftly turn, as Gohan has a shaky reunion with his father. Also, Gohan is going to meet a mysterious girl who tries to help heal the wounds.. You might have a hunch as to who it is, but I'll give you a hint, it's not going to be easy making their relationship logical. Stay with me. We also figure out exactly what seemed to create this storm Vegeta was talking about, but the details are very vague.. for now.


	5. A Helping Hand

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 5**

**A Helping Hand**

**Disclaimer: **This is the fifth chapter of my fanfiction. It's really started to pick up now, and things are going to start becoming more intriguing. Sorry if it took a long while to update. I do not own any of the characters in Dragonball, they are all owned by Akira Toriyama.

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Gohan flew as fast as he could across the landscape, eventually he was flying over yet another city. This city was eerily familiar to him, he realized that it was Satan City. Gohan could feel his exhausted breaths, he dropped down to the ground in an unnoticed spot, and walked out of it to stroll a long the city sidewalks. He needed to stop and take a breather, rest up a little bit, his fight with Vegeta had wasted more ki then he thought. He had wondered if Vegeta was alright, but it was a little too late for him to go back and check at this point, and the ache in his heart had only widened.

Gohan looked around various buildings, before he found a park nearby, littered with grass all over it, and pathways cutting through the grass, as well as a few trees here and there. He found a bench nearby, and sat down on it, letting his thoughts run through his head, thoughts that had haunted him so many times before in his dreams.

_Magenta eyes sneered at Gohan in his vision, a monster with a green body that was reptilian like in it's nature, covered with black spikes, a black center in the middle of it's head, his face was white in comparison to the other parts of his body, and he had what appeared to be a yellow part that came down the side of his head. His boots were a decorated yellowish or goldish color, and the area in the middle of his body was also black, with a tanish stinger sticking out the back, the place his tail used to be when he absorbed his victims._

_"This must be hard for you with all those wounds.. I'M SURE THIS MAKES THEM BURN!" The voice of the monster, Cell, had taunted him in his head. The Kamehameha blast he was shooting out had only powered up more, and threatened to overpower Gohan as he dropped to one knee, and squinted an eye closed._

_He remembered his father's voice well, "Would you stop attacking yourself? I don't know where you got it in your head that there's something wrong with you, because there isn't, you've saved my life and the lives of others so many times before, and you're going to do it again, RIGHT NOW!" These words had spurred Gohan to increase the power of his Kamehameha, but Cell spat right back at him, "You fool, don't you realize yet you're up against the perfect weapon!" Once again powering up his Kamehameha, Cell had the advantage again._

_Gohan didn't want to unleash his full power, for fear of destroying the earth, and though not truly a psychic, Goku guessed his son's thoughts clearly, "Gohan, if anywhere in your heart you're holding back because you're afraid of what will happen to the earth, forget about it!" The words shocked Gohan, but he felt as if he didn't have any power left to give. Piccolo and the others had jumped in, but their attacks weren't even much of a distraction, though they provided him some relief of strain, but Cell eventually blew them all away from him, and they were unable to get back up. Cell laughed maliciously, "You've got no chance, NO CHANCE!" he screamed in a fury of joy, however at the last second the Saiyan Prince had interrupted, shocking Cell and Gohan, but as his father screamed out for him to use his final power, he let it all go and ended Cell's rein of terror forever_.

Gohan came back to reality slowly, and he brought his knees up to his chest, resting his head on his knees. He wretched out a sob, but then a voice came to him, a voice he knew all too well, "Hey there, little man," Goku's voice had beamed out to him.

Gohan looked up in shock, a little wildly, "D-daddy, is that you?"

Goku, from otherworld, smiled, "Yes, it's me son, I'm talking to you through King Kai," Goku paused as his smile faded away, then he continued, "Listen, I know you miss me and all, but you have to understand, it's not your fault I died Gohan."

Gohan looked down at the ground, his eyes displaying his sadness and fury, "Yeah but, if I had killed Cell when I had the chance, you wouldn't have had to do that.."

Goku blinked a little bit, blinking back tears he hadn't noticed, before responding to Gohan, "If anyone's at fault, it's Cell, sure you made a mistake Gohan, but that doesn't mean a thing, I choose to die with Cell, in order to save the earth."

Gohan let out a sad sigh, "I guess... I still miss you a lot daddy, I- I don't know it..." Gohan paused, trying to convey his feelings into words, before he continued on, "It feels like when you died, a part of me did as well."

Goku closed his eyes as he listened to his son's words, he seriously wanted to get back to Earth at this point, he needed to get back to Earth, but at the same time, he wasn't sure he was ready to go back just yet, he responded to Gohan's feelings, "I understand that Gohan, I really do, but please know that my choice was to protect you and the earth.."

Gohan nodded his head, though his sadness still showed, he now knew his father didn't hate him, but he was unsure of his innocence, and he wanted his father back, he responded to Goku, "I understand, dad, I know you did it for us," however, his voice sounded unconvincing.

Goku sighed, his time was running short, "I'm sorry Gohan, but I have to leave for now, I promise I'll get in touch with you again as soon as I can," and with that his connection was cut.

Gohan felt the whirling ache inside of him, it didn't grow after his father had cut the line, but it was still there, the feeling of emptiness after his father had stopped talking to him, he knew their "reunion" had been rather rocky.

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Piccolo faced Dende, the seriousness showing on his face, the little green Namekian, with a resemblance to his own, in his small clothing that matched Kami's, awaited to hear what Piccolo had planned to try and help Gohan, and Piccolo opened his mouth to speak, "Dende, I suppose you know what's been happening?"

The little green Namek nodded, "Yes, Piccolo, I know about Gohan, and I know you have something in mind to try and help him."

Piccolo nodded, but his look remained serious, "Yes, I have something in mind to help him, but it's going to take about a week to prepare. I plan to ask Yemma if he can possibly give Goku an entire day to come back to Earth to spend with Gohan, I'm sure he could do that."

Krillin blinked, shocked what Piccolo had just said, and he had to pipe into the whole ordeal, "Wait, you mean he grant things like that!" Krillin knew about the legendary ruler of the other world, but he had no idea that he had such powers.

Piccolo smirked, expecting Krillin's reaction, and he nodded at Krillin, "Yes, King Yemma can grant things like that, he is the "Ruler" after all."

Krillin gave himself a facepalm after hearing Piccolo say that, after all how he could have forgotten that this man created the very rules for the otherworld itself, it would make sense for him to be able to do something of that magnitude.

Dende nodded at Piccolo's plan, "What you ask will take some time, Piccolo, but I can open the Guardian's Pathway to King Yemma," and with that he had headed off to begin the opening of the pathway.

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Gohan was still sitting on the bench in a park, when he noticed a girl about his age sitting on the ground in front of him, drawing invisible objects into the ground. He watched her cheerful expression, perplexed by her movements. She had on a white vestment with a purple shirt underneath it, her hair was black and short in it's nature, and she had on purple pants, a long with yellow gloves and yellow boots. It looked sort of like a martial art's outfit. Gohan closed his eyes, and let out a sad sigh, unaware it had caught the attention of this girl in front of him.

Her blue eyes shined like a sea of sorts, and she looked curiously at the boy in front of him, then she walked up to him, and waited until he opened his eyes to look at her again. She could see the sadness behind his eyes, and knew something was bothering him, she had been told by her father, Mr. Satan, that she had the ability to bring out the best qualities of anyone. Her father had been the world champion, but though she never truly believed he could bring out that kind of power, she had played a long with him.

She smiled at the young man in front of her, and opened her mouth to speak, her voice having a sort of calmness to it, "Hello, My name is Videl, what's yours?"

Gohan blinked at the overwhelming kindness this girl was showing him, he felt compelled to respond and learn about her, "My name is Gohan.."

The girl sat down beside him, given the open invitation by Gohan's eyes, and she looked at him, speaking up again, "May I ask what's bothering you?"

The honesty and quaintness behind her attitude caused Gohan to find himself slowly attracted to that feature of her, and he let out a breath as he said, "My father is dead, and I miss him a lot.."

She nodded at that information, and she looked down at the ground, "I ran away from home, because my father doesn't seem to care at all."

Gohan blinked at her, quite shocked that he found someone he could actually relate his feelings to, the ache in his heart seemed to seal up slowly, not fade away, but it seemed to close a little bit, he had found someone who was in a similar situation to his own, he nodded to her, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I understand.. some things are just so hard to deal with.."

She looked up at him, a quiet smile on her face, and she beamed up as she announced, "I have a shack the two of us can live at together, and enough money coming to me from father's estate that I can buy all our necessities," she beamed up as innocently as possible.

Gohan, for once in a long while, let a smile show on his visage, and he nodded at her, "That sounds like it would be fun," it seemed like the perfect excuse for him to get away from his house for a little bit, to see if that would help him sort out some of his feelings.

Videl squealed with joy, she had finally found a first true friend in her life. Her squealed caused Gohan to laugh a little bit, for a short while, the both of them could finally forget their pain and enjoy life for a little bit, although they were both unsure of how long it would actually laugh, both agreed to be there for each other whenever the other needed help. Gohan looked off into the distance, and he saw the same storm clouds as Vegeta had seen earlier. He motioned for Videl to lead him on before it got there, but his thoughts ran over the eerie appearance of the clouds, that were both welcoming and frightening to him, as if they were seemingly an outward manifestation of the anger that had been clouding him earlier, and a flash of lightning, followed by a distant crack of thunder, lit up the evening sky in the background.

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**Author's Notes: **Goku had his little chat with Gohan, but it didn't turn out so well, also, the mysterious girl is revealed to be Videl, but will her plan to help work out? Also, how is this big storm related to the anger Gohan had felt earlier? And will Piccolo's plan work out so well?

**Author's Preview: **Well, in the next chapter we finally uncover where Videl is living after having ran away. We also finally get a glimpse to the Guardian's pathway to the otherworld, or the check-in station. Vegeta also makes a cameo in the next chapter, to explain some things to readers if their not understanding the current situation, Goku is troubled by the situation taking place, and something happens to Gohan that not even he could forsee. Keep up to date please.


	6. The New Threat

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 6**

**The New Threat**

**Disclaimer**: This was a relatively short chapter, but straight and sweet to the main point of this story, it's not long now folks, I estimate another 9-10 chapters more, but it'll be a fun ride! Oh, and remember, I do not own ANY of these characters, except for the OC I created

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High above the clouds, at Kami's lookout, inside, Piccolo was looking up at a high portal. It was cover by massive designs of faces, all with glowing red eyes, symbols of the previous Kami. Piccolo gulped, he had never truly seen the opening before, but it was absolutely gigantic. He looked back at Dende and Krillin, then back at the portal.

"Uhh, Piccolo, are you sure this thing's safe?" Krillin spoke up

Piccolo grunted, "The previous Kami traveled through here, I should be able to as well."

Krillin nodded, Piccolo turned back to face them once more, and then made his way through the portal to be in the otherworld, he hoped his idea would work, but he didn't know if King Yemma would agree to it.

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Gohan was flying through the air, carrying a very shocked looking Videl, but even in the air she knew what her shack looked like. She looked over at Gohan, and she could see the peaceful look he had on his visage, as she looked back down, she spotted a brownish looking house, circular in nature, with a blue roof on the top of it, an entry way, and five windows, signifying that the house had five rooms in total.

"Down there," Videl chirped, pointing at the house, "That one is it!"

Gohan nodded, and flew down to the ground, he stared up at the house, realizing it was much bigger than it actually looked.

_'She calls this thing a shack?_' Gohan thought to himself, but the remainder of his thoughts were cut off, as something pulled at him from inside. A shocked look came on his face, and suddenly a red aura flew out from him, Videl looked shocked, and this happened for another two minutes before it fully came out, and shot off into the distance.

"What in the world happened!" Videl yelled out in shock

Gohan looked absolutely shocked, "I.. I don't know.. I think maybe that was.." Gohan's shocked visage turned to horror as realization dawned on him

Videl blinked, wondering what could cause her friend to look so shocked, but she waited patiently for him to answer

"I think that was.. the darkness of my heart leaving my body to take on a physical form.." Gohan gasped in shock, and Videl gasped in even more shock.

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Dende turned around and looked down at the earth in shock, "Oh no!" Dende gasped

Krillin blinked, "What's wrong Dende?" He asked his friend he had met on Namek

"The anger in Gohan's heart was so great, that after he made a friend, it left his body in the form of ki," Dende explained, "If that ki is allowed to wander, it will likely take over someone, giving them an incredible amount of power, and driving them insane."

Krillin gulped, the nervousness showed in his voice, "T-that doesn't sound.. too good"

Dende nodded, "Oh please Piccolo.. please let your plan work before it's too late."

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A certain Saiyan prince was sitting on a mountain side nearby, he felt the incredible surge of ki that had come off from Gohan, and he growled, "I knew it.. there was a big storm coming after all.."

Vegeta stood up, his wound had pretty much healed, and he thought to himself, _'Damn, I see now, so this is what was really going on, I should have guessed it sooner or later, Kakarot you and your son may be this planet's last hope now..'_

Vegeta stared into the distance in pure horror, he could feel the ki flowing around, the ki that had once been Gohan's anger.

_'The kid must have missed his father greatly.. he put the blame on himself because of it, I could see that much, Piccolo and the others tried to help.. but none of us ever foresaw this event..' _Vegeta thought with a dismay behind his own voice ringing in his head, yet he continued on.

"He made a friend, it looks like, and the happiness he experienced meant that the anger could no long stay inside of him, it had to find an exit point, and the only way was out of his body. Crap, when this thing takes someone over, there'll be hell to pay for sure!" Vegeta's voice was full of panic, he knew how powerful Gohan was, and he knew how powerful an energy emitted from the kid could make someone.

Vegeta powered up, and flew off in the direction that Gohan's actual ki was located, he needed to know exactly how this happened, and he needed to know if there was any possible way to defeat this threat, before it defeated them.

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The hulking giant King Yemma was looking down at the Saiyan warrior Goku, who had his hand on King Kai's shoulder, he could see the concern in Goku's face.

"Hey Goku, what's the matter, has something happened with your son?" Yemma spoke up, unaware of what just transpired

Goku turned to look back at Yemma, and he nodded, "It would seem as if the anger within his heart has been brought outside of his body in the form of ki."

Yemma blinked, surprised at this bit of information, "This is not good indeed.. if that ki were to possess someone.."

King Kai nodded in agreement, "Yes, I'm inclined to agree, if it were to possess someone, it would give them a huge powerup.. the fact of the matter is, that's inevitable."

Goku let out a gulp, now not only did his son have to deal with whatever feelings of sadness were left, he'd have to deal with a new threat entirely, and this did not bode well for the young warrior in his current state of emotion, he could only hope Gohan's new friend could help patch up the wounds before the state of energy found someone to take over.

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A young boy was standing on a ledge nearby, below him was a house about the same size and shape as Goku's house, but it had a darker, more red colored roof on it. The boy was about the same size and age as Gohan, and though his hairstyle was similar in nature, the back side of his hair was more cut off.

The young martial artist looked up into the sky, only to have a blinding red light come flying down at him, he let out a loud scream as it started to flow into his body, the energy of Gohan's anger was taking on it's new host at this point, and there wasn't anything anyone could do about it now.

As the light flared down, the young boy that once stood there was now more stalkier in his build, the size of his muscles had increased, and his chest was slightly bigger, although he still had a body in between that of a boy and a young man. He let out a heaved breath, his clothing consisted of a gi shirt that had a white collar at the top of it, the shirt and pants he wore were both navy blue, the belt he wore was red, a long with his wrist bands, and his boots were a black coloring with yellow, red, and blue ties to tighten or loosen them when needed.

His head raised at once, and he had a mischievous looking grin on his face, the kind of grin one would expect to see on a person who had just been driven completely insane. He let out a sinister laugh, in that of the same voice as Gohan, and he floated himself slowly up into the air.

A worried looking young boy came out of the house, and looked up to see the young person floating in the air, "Giku.. is something the matter?" he asked in a worried voice.

Giku looked down at the little boy, and smirked sinisterly, "No, It's Nothing... Nothing at all, Shinta!" he yelled out.

He let out a loud laugh, and then powered up, the red energy surrounding him, and he flew off into a certain direction, unaware of exactly where he was headed, but he knew that his own instincts would take him in the direction he needed to go.

The loud crackle of thunder was heard in the background, and the young boy Shinta stood staring off as the man he looked up to as an older brother flew off. He knew something bad was coming. One thing was definitely for sure, the earth was in danger yet again, and this time from a threat far more powerful than Cell.

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**Author's Notes**: Uh oh! It looks like Gohan's anger has left his body and taken over the body of someone else as it's host. Just who is this mysterious person's name, and is there any possible way for him to be saved? Will Piccolo make it in time to make the necessary arrangements with Yemma? Will Vegeta make it to Gohan in time to figure out exactly what happened? And what will Videl do to heal the wounds of Gohan before this new person finds him?

**Author's Preview**: In the next chapter, Piccolo finally arrives at Yemma's Palace, and there he begins his plot to bring Goku back for a short while. Videl also attempts to help Gohan overcome his pain, Giku ends up at an unexpected place, and he uncovers a secret about Gohan that he could use to his advantage, and Vegeta encounters someone he did not expect to find. One thing's for sure, you don't wanna miss the next action packed chapter!


	7. A Secret Revealed

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 7**

**A Secret Revealed**

**Disclaimer**: Sorry to have kept you guys waiting for so long, but many things had kept my busy, however, I'm back in action and ready for this next chapter, so let's get started shall we? This chapter should be a relatively long one, as lots of stuff are going to be revealed! As always, I do not own any of the characters in this fanfiction, except for Giku and Shinta.

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Giku continued his race towards somewhere, he had no idea where he was headed, his body was taking him on instinct alone. He could feel power raging through him, and along with it an incredibly thirst for vengeance. Giku soon found himself at the old Cell Games Arena, being drawn there by something, he did not know what it was, but he landed on a mountain side nearby. He looked down at a massive crater that was in the ground, and a grin seemed to cross his face. He had a realization that dawned on him, he would search for the closest similar source of ki that seemed to trail out from the crater. He had heard about the great warrior known as Goku, and wondered if only someone this powerful could have left such a strong ki signature behind. He then put together that Goku was one of the people who was fighting Cell at the Cell Games.

Giku suppressed his ki to a bare minimum, already having learned how to control his power, in hopes that none of the other fighters would have sensed him. It would have been incredibly hard if they had, as he did not wish to give himself away to them just yet. No, he would take his sweet time waiting for Goku to show a sign of himself again. He would be the first of the victims that Giku would take his vengeance out on. Giku chuckled in amusement to himself at that thought. He took flight to the skies again and flew as slowly as possible to keep his ki suppressed, while scanning the energies from the other people of the planet, he was able to pick up on six distinct powerful ki sources. The wind blew through his hair, as he had a manic grin on his face.

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Chichi paced back and forth, she had no idea where Gohan had gone at this point, he could be anywhere, and she hadn't heard word back from Krillin yet. She knew something was terribly wrong with Gohan, and she hoped he had been okay, but on top of this, she had to worry about the baby Goten every hour or so. He was always making some kind of racket, wanting food or needing a diaper change, the normal things that came with a baby.

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Giku was flying over a forest like landscape when he came across a house out of the blue, he flew down and landed, and decided he needed to get a glass of water and some food, after all, he was still human, and he needed to eat and drink to keep his new found ki at a heightened amount. He landed and knocked on the door

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Chichi heard a knock come from her door, and she blinked a little bit.

_I wonder who that could be? _Chichi thought to herself as she opened the door, she looked down to see a small boy, who looked similar in nature to Gohan, but a bit rougher in build, standing at her door step.

"Umm, can I help you?" Chichi asked the boy she was looking at.

The boy looked at her and smiled, "Yes, ma'am.. I've been walking for a while, and I needed a place to stop and get some food and water, you see I'm currently traveling back to my house."

Chichi looked down and the boy, and seeing he sweet smile, she nodded at him, "Yes, come in, I'll fix you a quick sandwhich and some water, you may feel free to look around, but please don't break anything. Ah, could I have your name?"

The boy looked up at her and smiled, "Ah.. yes, my name is Giku.." he walked into the house. He looked around and felt a distinct sense of familiarity, it wasn't quite the same as his old house, but it reminded him of it. The texture of the walls, brown, and the way the room was set up, with an odd couch set in the middle, a tv in front of that, a rug in the middle and a table that was capable of being sat on. It was quite easy to get around with the four doorways. He opened up a door and walked into a room, in it he saw a bed, and a desk with a lamp on it, some shelves with books on them, and a window directly in front of him with two purple curtains. He walked over to the desk and noticed a letter was written on it, he looked over the letter and read it carefully in his head:

_Dear dad,_

_I'm writing to let you know that I'm sorry for what I did. I'll never truly be able to forgive myself for it. I don't know how long it'll take me to get over this, if I ever get over it. You meant a lot to me, more than you'll ever know, you taught me so much more than I could have ever though possible to learn, where mom and the others thought you were dense, I thought you were incredibly wise. You've given me great times._

_I still remember our battle at the cell games, when you asked me to go out there and fight. I was scared, but I was determined, I was determined that if I could win the fight, we could all go home in peace. Unfortunately after my power was released, I let my arrogance get to me, and because of that you had to sacrifice yourself. I hope you're having fun up there in the otherworld, cause life for me has been a living hell ever since._

_Loving and missing you always,_

_Son Gohan, son of Goku._

A wide smirk came over Giku's face, he was IN the house that Goku had lived in, the martial arts warrior, and this was a letter from his son. He now knew that he was in a position where he had all the advantage in the world against any powerful friends that Goku might have had. A dark look of satisfaction made it's way over his visage, and he clenched his fist so much it might have drawn blood, before hearing a distinct call from downstairs by an elderly woman who had just finished making him food and drink. _A very mortifying discovery indeed..."_Giku thought to himself, as he walked down the stairs.

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Videl was inside her kitchen, which had a refrigerator on the right, the cabinets to the left, and a small stove in which to cook on. She was busy making dinner for both her and Gohan, and contrary to her disbelief of what Gohan told her, she had fixed enough food to feed an entire set of horses since she didn't think he would lie to her about his appetite. Ever since running away she had seen many strange things, so this didn't really bother her that much, it just meant she'd have to spend more money per week, but she had gotten a lot from her father's welfare protection, even though he claimed he didn't need it. She had previously pushed the thoughts of what had happened earlier back into her head, but that ominous feeling was still there

Gohan was in the living room sitting on the couch. He was trying to watch something on tv to get his mind off of what had just happened, but was unable to find anything of interest to him. The dark ki that had exerted itself from his body weighed on him heavily, and he had wondered exactly why it happened, but had come to the conclusion that it could find no other exit point except to leave his body. He knew the foreboding of what this meant, he would have to fight someone else soon. He had an irrelevant flash of the image of his mother in his head, and wondered if it was just him being home sick or not. He yawned as the door opened and Videl came in with his food.

He immediately set up, all his worries being taken off as Videl set the food down in front of him. The entire tray consisted of foods ranging from rice cakes, to rice, to soybeans, ramen noodles, chicken, sushi, and other great favorites. Gohan couldn't decide to pick just which one he wanted to eat first, but decided to go with the rice cakes, and within 5 minutes, he had cleared the entire tray of food, much to Videl's surprise, who had barely finished hers with all the shock she was in. Gohan leaned back into the couch, and patted his stomach.

"That was great, you cook almost as well as mom, no, maybe even better than her!" Gohan exclaimed

Videl blushed a little bit, "Thank you.. I appreciate that" she smiled, feeling warm inside knowing that for once Gohan was actually happy, and his minds had been taken off his worries.

"Do you do this kind of thing often?" Gohan offered the question, trying to keep the conversation going.

"Oh.. no, that was actually my 3rd time cooking for someone, but my 20th time cooking altogether. I ran away recently." She giggled amusedly to herself

Gohan chuckled lightly, "Oh.. I see.." he looked out the window now, seeing that evening was beginning to set in. He wondered at what time he would end up wanting to go to bed, after all, he was now free to just about anything that didn't go against his moral values, and that included staying up all night.

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Up at King Yemma's, Goku was watching the events unfold. He had seen the ki take over someone and knew that things were getting more dire by the second, when suddenly a doorway seemingly opened that was not open before. A bright light shown through the doorway blinding all who were there, and out from that light walked Piccolo, much to the surprise of Goku, King Kai, and King Yemma.

"Piccolo!" Goku exclaimed, having not seen his old friend in a good long while.

Piccolo looked at Goku's shocked visage, and a faint smile crossed his face, "It has been a while, hasn't it Goku?"

King Yemma looked down at the Namek before him, "Piccolo, what is the meaning of this? That gateway is only to be used in dire circumstances, or is this concerning Goku's son?"

Piccolo looked shocked that King Yemma knew that, and he nodded at King Yemma solemnly, and Yemma then nodded to Goku, who had been watching through King Kai.

Goku looked at Piccolo and spoke his piece, "I've been watching for a while now Piccolo, things have gotten even more dangerous than before. Gohan made a new friend, and the pent up anger inside of him had only one way to release itself, it came out of him in a physical form, and has now overtaken someone's body and has enslaved them to it's will."

Piccolo gasped in shock at this new found information, this meant that an even more dire threat posed itself ot earth than the very monster Cell himself, this could no go unaccounted for, as even the slightest global threat would have to be dealt with immediately, he only hoped he could think of a way to save the poor soul who had been overtaken by the ominious anger than Gohan had released into the world. He knew he had little time left, so he would have to get straight to the point to start explaining the situation.

"I see.. well, I came up here to see if I could talk to Yemma about negotiating a timeline where you could come back to earth for one day. You see, this is now an event that effects the entire universe, and this is a person's soul we're talking about. On top of that, we've also got to think about Gohan's feelings as well, he probably still feels a little lonely despite the fact that he found a new friend." He looked at Yemma, "I trust you understand what this means, Gohan could still make a choice, and we don't have time to wait anymore to see if his friend can heal his wounds, he needs his father."

King Yemma ran his hand across his chin, Piccolo's plan was a brilliant idea, and he knew that the only way to fix this was to send the source of it's cause down to Earth. Goku had made a huge mess, and he needed time to fix it, and Piccolo was right, this was a crisis that affected someone's soul and the entire universe at that.

"Very well then, I will make the necessary arrangements, you have one day Goku, you had better make this count." King Yemma boomed down over them all.

Goku nodded back furiously at the giant, "You can guarantee I'll set all this right Yemma, if it's the last thing I do!"

Yemma hoped that Goku was right about this situation, as he was the only one at this point who could do anything about it. He started to jot down the paperwork now needed to begin the arrangements to take Goku back to Earth for an entire day, after all, he was the ruler of the otherworld, and he ruled it with an iron fist.

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Vegeta was flying through the air at a furious rate, he was on his way to where Gohan's ki was, but had decided to track another ki signal that he had been feeling, he had a bad feeling about this ki, as it felt quite similar to the ki that had exited Gohan's body upon him finding a friend. He couldn't beleve anything like this was happening, it had seemed all too surreal for him. He had no idea how things could spiral out of control this fast, but he knew he had to act fast, and he knew Kakarot was the only one who could truly fix this problem. He sped through the skies as quickly as he could, he knew he didn't have much time left as this point.

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Giku had enjoyed the little meal he had in the Son household, but he knew it was time for him to go. He got up and began to walk to the door, then turned around and said his parting words to Chichi.

"Thank you for the dinner Miss Chichi, but I believe it's time I take my leave now." he smiled at her.

Chichi nodded to him, "Yes, goodbye Giku, take care of yourself."

He nodded back and walked out the door, shut it behind him, then took to the skies, flying to the west towards west city, he had decided it might be best to make a pit stop there, and maybe he could figure out more at a place called Capsule Corp, which was now headed by Bulma Briefs.

Chichi had wondered who that kid was, there was something about him that she just didn't like, she felt like she was in danger when he was around, even though he seemed so sweet, there was something deadly she felt behind that innocence, she knew it was a bad thing. She debated whether or not she should call Bulma, and finally decided to get up and go check on the Baby Goten, hoping nothing had happened to him

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Vegeta was flying over a foresty landscape now, and he felt a huge jolt of ki surge through him, he saw a glimmer in the distance and saw someone heading straight towards him. He knew this encounter wouldn't end so well, and he stopped in mid flight as he waited for whatever it was approaching him to stop,

Giku had felt a sudden surge of ki flow through him, he knew he was coming up on someone, and as he looked into the distance he saw a man who appeared to have spiked up hair and was relatively moderate in height. He flew up to the man and stopped in mid-flight, he had no idea who it was, but whoever it was had a strong ki pool, though not nearly enough to defeat him, he grinned at the newfound person he met, he knew he could easily silence this man. The wind blew harshly through the air as they faced each other.

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**Author's Notes: **What's this?! Vegeta has encountered Giku, could there be some fireworks to show? How will Vegeta get himself out of this mess? What will Gohan and Krillin do once the fight begins? How will Goku react to this, and will he be able to make it back in time? All this and more will be enlightened!

**Author's Preview: **Things are certainly getting exciting! Giku and Vegeta will confront each other in a battle in the next chapter, Gohan will sense Giku for the first time, and Piccolo's plan to help Giku will finally come to fruition. Krillin will finally come into contact with Chichi and explain to her exactly what's been happening over the past few days. Keep in touch guys, this is just going to get better from this point on.


	8. Unfolding Plans

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 8**

**Unfolding Plans**

**Disclaimer**: School season has started, and this is the first time I've gotten around to updating, sorry for the long way for those of you who were bored to tears. Now, let's continue onward, shall we?! As always, I do not own any of the characters in this fanfiction, except for Giku and Shinta.

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Krillin was flying from the lookout to Chichi's house. He had to tell her about their plan and all the events that happened. He felt uneasy about flying towards the home of his best friend, exactly why would he feel so uneasy? What was it about the atmosphere that freaked him out. Krillin had remembered then what Dende had said to him

_"Be careful, Krillin, I get a feeling, the person is at Chichi's right now." Dende had said nervously, with that Krillin took off as fast as he could, he had to check and see if Chi chi was alright._

Krillin hoped that she would be alright, he flew as fast as he possible could. Seeing the landscape change into the forest area he knew so well, he spotted Chichi's house after a short five minute flight. He landed in front of the house, and knocked on the door loudly. He hoped he would get an answer, less Chichi and little Goten be killed by this new person

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The wind bristled through the forest land scape, before a loud explosion was heard. Vegeta and Giku had collided their knees together, and Giku smirked mockingly at the proud Saiyan Prince.

"My my, for someone so strong, you sure don't have much power." Giku said to the Prince in a mocking tone.

Vegeta glared at the young man, and powered up to his maximum Super Saiyan state. Giku smirked and powered up to equal the Saiyan Prince's power, only infuriating the Saiyan Prince even more than he already was. Vegeta lunged an attack at Giku, and Giku ducked down low, he then landed a roundhouse kick to Vegeta's face, sending him flying back. He flew at Vegeta, and at the last second Vegeta managed to stop himself, he and Giku connected in a combination of kicks and punches, but shortly thereafter Giku gained the upper hand, sending a powerful uppercut at the Prince, and catch his Chin. He then kicked him down at the ground, and extended his hand out, firing a powerful ki blast at the prince.

An ensuing explosion was heard moments later, but Vegeta managed to fly of it, though he was battered and bruised, he flew up to where Giku was, and hovered in the air about 10 feet away from him. His breathing was ragged as he panted, trying to catch his breath, it was obvious to him who the stronger opponent was. He knew he had only one chance of winning. Extending both his arms out, the cupping his hands together to form a circular formation with his palms, he began to charge up ki in the circular formation, yellow sparks of lightning flowing into it. Giku's eyes widened upon seeing this, he wondered what it was.

"FINAL... FLASH!" Vegeta yelled, and a huge beam of yellow ki came soaring out at Giku, who's eyes widened immensely. Giku barely managed to dodge the beam, and watched as it crashed across the Earth and glided off into space. He looked back at the Saiyan Prince, not believing the amount of power he had just witnessed, but he noticed how exhausted Vegeta was after having used the attack. He grinned to himself, this was now his time to strike.

Lunging himself at the Prince, he delievered a swift and painful knee strike to the gut, causing Vegeta to gasp in pain and cough up blood. Using Vegeta's shoulder as leverage, Giku flipped over him in midair, and delievered a forceful kick to the back of the head. He cupped his hands together, and pulled them backwards to his waist.

"KA..ME...HA...ME...HA!" Giku screamed out, and a blue stream of ki headed straight towards Vegeta. It compacted with him, and shot him ino the ground, creating a huge explosion in the process. Giku smirked triumphantly at the explosion, he had knew his victory was imminent now. No one could have survived such a devastating blast, no matter how hard their body was. Giku waited for a few minutes to see if any movement occurred, and then flew off in the opposite direction, certain he had not been discovered yet, if only he knew how wrong he was.

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Gohan snapped up suddenly, he had felt the ki of Vegeta rise tremendously, followed by another Ki he had felt before, the very own dark ki that had left his body earlier. He gulped, he knew immediately what this meant. His ki had possessed someone else, and Vegeta was fighting that person. He warily sensed the ki of the fight, until he was positive that Vegeta had been defeated, he stood up, and looked over at Videl, who was asleep. He left a note saying that he was going out to check on one of his friends, and he would be back shortly, and rested it on the table beside her. He then ran out of the cabin, and flew off into the sky, heading in a b-line straight towards where the battle had taken place.

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Krillin had turned to look in an opposite direction in a start as Chichi answered the door, he knew what had happened, Vegeta had been fighting Gohan's now alter-ego, so to speak. He turned to look back at Chichi, who had greeted him warmly, and asked him immediately if anything had come up about Gohan.

"Yes, we did find Gohan, he is currently with another friend at this point, and well.. the next part of this story is going to be a difficult one to tell, but the Earth is at another peril at this point in it's time."

Chichi gasped, hoping Gohan was alright, and after some reassurance Krillin began to tell her the story. He explained to her how some kind of weird ki had suddenly flown out from Gohan upon making a friend. Dende revealed that this ki could in fact possess someone, and it eventually did, he told Chichi that the time would come when Gohan would have to fight again, but that it was likely this person could be saved. He hoped in his mind Piccolo could come up with a plan.

"Please.. take care of him Krillin, he's the only one I have left besides Goten." Chichi begged him, Krillin had never seen her do that before.

"I will, you count on that Chichi, I'll protect him even if it costs me my life." Krillin said, and with that he was off again, leaving behind a less worried and more calm Chichi. She now knew her baby, despite being in danger, was getting back to his old self slowly. She secretly wondered if Goku would be involved, but that would wait for another time, she wanted this all to pass, and for Gohan to be able to live a peaceful life like they always dreamed of.

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Piccolo thought over long and hard. He had wondered if there were any possible steps that could be taken to save the soul of this broken kid, without actually killing him. There had to be a way, there was always a way to solve things non-violently, Chichi herself had said this before. Goku watched the thinking Namek, he knew better than to disturb him at this point, this was a situation involving someone's life, and he hated having to kill if he could avoid it. Piccolo's eyes widened, he had thought of an idea.

"What is it, Piccolo?" Goku asked the Namek, he knew the Namek had a plan.

"Perhaps the Holy Water could work it's wonders here, since it's Negative ki, and Holy water purifies it, it is possible to save him." Piccolo replied.

Goku beamed at the thought, "That's a Brilliant idea, Piccolo!" The Saiyan exclaimed.

Piccolo felt an inward pride in himself for actually listening to Kami once. Seeing as how the idea had been Kami's, he knew he could actually rely on the old man every now and then for an idea, and he respected Kami because of that. Now, the question left was, how exactly would this plan be set into motion, and would they be able to alert Gohan of it before then, the only thing to do now was to wait patiently.

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Gohan flew, alert and focused, and landed on the battlefield where the fight had just taken place. He couldn't believe how destroyed the forest had been, but that soon wore off when he found a certain Saiyan Prince lying battle scarred and unconscious.

"Oh no, Vegeta!" Gohan yelled out in concern, running up to the fallen prince. He checked Vegeta's vital signs, to find that they were weak, but still salvageable. He picked up the Prince, and flew off with him to make it to Korin's tower.

As he flew, he ran his thoughts over everything that had happened. His knew friend he met, how his mother was coping with him not being around, and even more how the person who his ki had possessed was doing. He knew it was not a good thing, but he couldn't help yet feel a tiny bit guilty for this, he knew better though, than to think he was the cause of it all, such feelings are what led to this the last time, and the next thing he needed was another being of destruction on the loose. After he got Vegeta healed, he would go back, grab his friend, and take her back to his Mother's. He thought that might be a great plan since the being might try to track him down, it's mind after all was on revenge.

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A lone boy walked along the wood side, until he came across a house. He knocked on the door, and waited poiltely for a response.

Inside Chichi heard a knock, and opened the door to see a young kid, about the age of Gohan 4 years ago, with red hair standing there, she saw him a bit tattered, and knew he had been walking for hours.

"Hello, come in please, make yourself comfortable." Chichi said kindly.

"Thank you, M'am." He smiled back at her, impressing Chichi with his formal speech. He slumped down on the floor, and sighed, Chichi could tell something wasn't right with him.

:"Could I ask your name, and maybe fix you a snack?" Chichi asked him formally.

"Oh yes M'am, my name is Shinta, and I would love a snack, your name Miss?" Shinta replied to her

She smiled and bowed, "My name is Chichi," and with those words she was off to fix the kid she had found something to eat. The wind outside the house, however, was howling loudly. A storm was approaching, and it was going to be a very violent storm Chichi could tell. Their house however, had held up through more vicious storms than she could count in her lifetime. On a mountain outside of the home, though, stood the ever watchful Giku on a cliff over it, a maniacal grin on his face as he watched over the home of the Son Household. He had found his new target, and soon he would hopefully have the battle of the lifetime with the very kid who had killed Cell. The mere thought of that sent a shiver down his spine, and he sat down on the ground to go into a meditative state as the wind blew around him, he was plotting his next move.

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**Author's Notes: **Uh oh, Gohan has found the injured Vegeta, and now that he knows of Giku's existence, what will he do in response? How will Piccolo put his plan into action? When will Goku become involved again? And who is Giku's new target?

**Author's Preview:** In the next chapter, the plan to bring Goku back finally happens, and he gets to meet Gohan again for the first time in a year! Vegeta is brought back from the brink of death, and Krillin gets into a hairy situation, A small part of Giku's past will be revealed through Shinta, and Goku makes a startling proposal! Please stay in touch, this fanfiction is bound to get even more exciting! Until then, Ciao!


	9. Reunions and Revelations

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 9**

**Reunions and Revelations**

**Disclaimer: **I have some time to work today, so I thought I would go ahead and update the story, try to give it a not so rushed feel like my previous chapters were. Countdown right now is about 5 chapters more to go, along with maybe an epilogue at the end. So let's hope to it! As always, I do not own any of the characters in this story except for Giku and Shinta.

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In a place high above the living world, a Namek and a Saiyan Warrior waited patiently, the Great King Yemma had left to see if the arrangements were complete, and if the preparations were necessary. The hulking giant soon returned, and sat down at his desk, he looked at Goku seriously.

King Yemma cleared his throat, "Ahem.. The preparations are complete, Piccolo will take you back to Kami's lookout through the portal, you have two days to sort out this mess instead of just one, we thought you might need it to say a proper goodbye to your son and your friends."

Goku looked ecstatic, the plan would surely succeeded, he tanked Yemma graciously, and turned to look at Piccolo, "Well, let's go!" Goku said excitedly to Piccolo. Both of them walked through the open portal, to travel back to the world of living. At this exact same time, a young warrior was arriving with a Saiyan Prince over his shoulder.

"Dende! Dende please help me!" Gohan yelled, setting Vegeta on the ground after he landed, Dende came running out, shocked to see how injured Vegeta was. He nodded immediately at Gohan, and kneeled down beside the prince, extending his hand outward. A green ki seemed to radiate from them, and the wounds from Vegeta began to heal up, slowly, but surely, until the all the wounds had closed. Dende stepped back as Vegeta opened his eyes, he held his head at first, but the memory became clear to him. He narrowed his eyes, and looked around to see where he was.

"You're at the lookout" Gohan responded, as if reading Vegeta's thoughts.

Vegeta glared, and snarled, " Bah, blast that runt! I swear, when I get my hands on him.." Vegeta growled lowly, humilitated that he was defeated by a kid.

Gohan looked down to the ground, he didn't know what to do, physically he was in good shape, but mentally he wasn't sure if he was ready to face this new threat. His thoughts were interrupted as both he and Vegeta snapped their heads up. They looked towards the door that entered the inside of the lookout, and Gohan's eyes widened.

_'Father?' _Gohan thought to himself, wondering if his mind were playing tricks on him, he could feel Goku's ki signal.

_'Kakarot?'_ Vegeta too, wondered if his mind were playing tricks on him, could Kakarot really have returned?

Their question was answered when Piccolo emerged from the doorway, followed by the face of a familar Saiyan Warrior, and son of the young man who stood there. Gohan's eyes widened immensely, and then he bit his lip, trembling in his knees. Was it true? Was his father really standing there before him?

Goku smiled at his Son's reaction, and he spoke softly, "Hey Son, it's good to see you again, you sure have grown.."

Gohan, unable to contain his joy at the fact that his father was there before him, disregarded his age and broke into a sprint, "Dad! It's really you!" the young warrior exclaimed, and jumped into the embrace of his father who caught him. Gohan could not contain the warm tears of happiness that leaked out of his eyes and fell down his cheeks, he was with his father again, the man who had taught him everything he knew, including how to be a hero.

Goku could feel the tears streaming down his Son's face, and he couldn't help but smile, his son had been through so much. He held him in the embrace, not wanting to let him go until he was sure his son had let out every emotion he could possibly expell into him. He too, was happy to hold his son in his arms once more. Gohan continued to cry into his father's chest, this was all too good to be true.

"It's you! You're really here! You're really here, dad!" Gohan exclaimed happily into his father's chest, burrying his face in it to hide his tears, though Piccolo and Vegeta both noticed, Piccolo had a smile on his face, and Vegeta just did his trademark "hmph" and turned away, not very good with dramatics.

Goku smiled, and ruffled his son's hair, he replied to him warmly, "Yes son, I'm here, and maybe, I'll stay for good this time, we'll see what the next two days bring." Gohan cried even more tears at that point, he couldn't believe his father had returned, and had actually planned to stay. New tears of joy burst out at this comment, and Goku laughed at his son's reaction, he bearhugged him, causing Gohan to laugh in a fit of happiness. Father and Son were reunited at last, and there seemed to be no separating of them this time around.

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_The rain poured down over the landscape. The very forest seemed to be drenched by the rainfall. Shinta waited patiently at his house, wondering when Giku would return. He had gone out to check on their parents, to see if they were safe since they hadn't been home in days. Shinta was scared for his older brother, they had been best of friends. he looked up to and admired his older brother. Giku was everything you would expect in an older brother, he was intelligent, cunning, yet gentle, and kid. He would never let anyone down, whenever anyone asked anything of him, he would always be there to lend a helping hand. His brother was always like that, he wished he could be more like him, instead of being so quiet and introvert. His mother had told them it wasn't weird, it was just the way he chose to be, and there was nothing wrong with that._

_His thoughts were interrupted as Giku burst through the door, tears were streaming down his face, and he looked directly at Shinta, the rain water having soaked his hair and clothes._

_"Mom.. and dad.. both of them were killed by Cell.." Giku rasped out breathlessly._

_Shinta gasped, he couldn't believe it. No, he absolutely refused to believe it. There was no way his parents had been killed by that.. hideous creature that called himself Cell. He ran out and looked at the two bodies Giku had dragged home with him. They were there, both of them, motionless on the ground, pale as could be and eyes closed. They were dead. Shinta fell to his knees, and puts his hands to his face, crying out in anguish. That monster couldn't get away with this, he just couldn't!_

_Giku came up behind hsi brother, and put both his hands on his brother's shoulders. He pulled him into an embrace, and Shinta snuggled into his brother, crying uncontrollably at this point. Giku had looked directly at the bodies of their parents. Shinta did not know what he was thinking at the time, but he stayed silent throughout the whole ordeal._

_A week later after burying the bodies, Giku seemed to be entertaining himself and Shinta by playing with him, trying to keep their minds off of the fact that they had no parents. He was always so happy when he was playing with Giku, he had never thought about his parents until night time, when his brother would sit there staring out the window up at the starlit sky, and even then, it didn't hurt as much. He had the one person who meant as much of the world to him as his parents. Giku looked at Shinta, and smiled at him. Shinta wondered exactly what his brother was thinking. He finally laid back on the pillow, and closed his eyes. He was happy to know his brother was watching over him._

_A little more than a week after the attack. Shinta and Giku were busy watching TV, when suddenly the monster appeared again. He traveled up through the many floors, frightening many people. Shinta growled under his teeth, and Giku narrowed his eyes. Both watched as the monster announced his hideous tournament. Shinta and Giku knew that the monster was far too powerful for any normal human to compete with him, but knew that if he issued the tournament, there must be some strong heroes out there. Turning off the tv Giku sighed, he looked out the window._

_"Things can never go right in this world.." Giku sighed out loud, and Shinta turned to look at the saddened expression on his brother's face. He had never seen him like this, so upset before, his brother had always been the cheerful type, never pessimistic about anything. He realized at this point, his brother's cheerful expressions had been a facade, a mask to hide how he truly felt inside, to try and convince himself to live to the best of his ability. With the world falling apart around them all the time though, it was really hard to live a positive life, Shinta understood this well. Still, he and Giku seemed content in their position. _

_That night, Shinta was restless in his sleep. A nightmare was slowly coming on, in it he saw the face of Cell laughing at him, taunting him, telling him he would never amount to anything. He tried to run, but no matter where he went, that face always seemed to come up. It snarled at him, laughed at him, taunted him, and mocked him. His anger pent up to the point where he screamed out loud. Suddenly light filled his eyes, and he awoke to a shaking feeling, and his brother calling out his name, he sat up in a cold sweat._

_"Hey, there there, easy Shinta, it was just a nightmare." Giku said, pulling his brother into another comforting embrace. Shinta loved those so much, they were always there when he needed them to be. His brother was always there when he needed him to be, always there to be dependable, to be the leader that he could follow, the inspiration that he looked up to. He loved his brother with all his heart, and never wanted him to leave no matter what. He had hoped they would be inseparable forever._

_Still, he couldn't help, but feel distant from his older brother. Like there was something secret that Giku always kept hidden from him, something he never wanted him to know about. He always wondered why he had that feeling, after all, they were brothers, and brothers weren't suppose to keep secrets from each other, they were suppose to trust each other. It was never that he really minded about Giku keeping secrets from him, but that he was always curious about them, and he knew his brother would never tell. That was the way his brother was, he was always like that, keeping secrets about himself, the deepest and darkest ones that he never wanted anyone else to know about. Yet they trusted each other with complete ease, Shinta never once believed that Giku had ever thought to harm him._

_"Brotherly relationships are like that, we both love each other, but we both fight a lot. The good thing is, we don't hate each other, and we can always hope for the best. We can accomplish anything together if we really try," Shinta had remembered those words that Giku said to him so well. He lived be that standard, that he and Giku could accomplish anything as long as they were together. He came home one day to find his brother working on his usual carpenter activity, building more repairs for houses around the neighborhood. It was a side job he found that had paid well, and actually kept them from loosing their house. Their food supply was never short either, as tenants often passed by with food for a very low price, which made it easily affordable. Shinta smiled at his brother, and slumped down onto the wooden stool, leaning his back against the wall. It had been a hard day hauling wood back and forth, but he had become stronger from it, and was able to help his brother out by allowing him to stay at home. Giku had decided that it would be a good time to call it a day, and gave it a rest with his own project._

_As Giku sat down on the floor behind him, Shinta noted the hint of sadness behind his eyes. That was the day it all changed for them. Giku's attitude seemed to change, he became less familiar with Shinta, and started to become distant. Still, he made every effort to remain as close to Shinta as possible, but Shinta could tell depression was overtaking him. Their parents death had hit him hard, even after the defeat of Cell, he knew his brother still didn't feel like it was justifiable, he knew he would have rather defeated Cell with his own hands, but now the world was at peace. Still, if his older brother couldn't be happy, why should he? Giku, however, told Shinta he wanted him to be happy no matter what, and he always tried to make time for him whenever._

_Then that fateful day came, where Giku had isolated himself to his room, he and Shinta hardly ever talked anymore, only when they were eating. His brother had become cold inside, a shallow shell of what his former lively self used to be. He went by day after day just doing the usual routine, but it seemed like he was a million miles away. Shinta wondered if things would ever get better for his older brother at some point, but he turned to look out at the sky. Eventually things would get better, they had to, after all, it was his older brother, he could overcome anything... nothing could ever bring his brother down for very long._

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Shinta sighed, he was lost in his thoughts after eating the sandwich, the memory of that time rang well in his mind. The time when they were happy, and nothing could ever bring them down. Now Shinta felt that it was hopeless, his brother had been possessed by a dark light, and there was nothing he could do to save him, as he had no idea where he was, or how evil he had actually become.

Chichi had just finished taking the plates back into the Kitchen, and came back to notice the thoughtful, but saddened look on the young man's face who sat at her table. She came over, and sat down beside him. She looked at him, and then said softly, "Perhaps you would like to get your story out to someone else?" Shinta looked up at her, and smiled sadly at her.

"Where to begin?" Shinta asked rhetorically, then he started his story, "Well, I have an older brother, his name is Giku, he had dark hard, was a bit stocky for his age, always dressed in blue clothing, it was his favorite color." Shinta paused for a moment, Chichi nodded at him to continue onward, she wanted to know more about this kid.

"He used to be happy-go-lucky, always playing around with me, even after our parents died, he eventually found a side job as a carpenter, and we made some good money off of it, until he finally was overcame by depression. He turned scornful, locked himself inside his room, and eventually he became nothing of what his former self was." Shinta closed his eyes, and sighed gently

Chichi was speechless by the young man's story, she couldn't believe how much of a rough time he had actually been through, now she understood the look in his eyes.

He looked up to her sadly, "It doesn't end there, it continued like this for the past five months, and finally, some.. strange light came and possessed him, it turned him the darkest I've ever seen him, I don't know if he can be saved." Shinta said this, a hint of sadness in his voice.

Chichi was shocked, she put two and two together, and realized that this same kid had entered her house not moments ago, she looked over toward the door, a look of fear in her eyes. This kid knew where she lived, he could attack any moment. She needed to prepare herself to leave in case of imminent danger, little did she know, that danger was lurking nearby.

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Krillin was flying along, when suddenly he sensed an overwhelming ki force behind him. He flew back to check it out, and came across a young kid sitting on a rock. He gulped, this kid looked exactly like the one Dende had described to him. He watched over the kid for a bit, his curiosity getting the better of him at this point.

Giku felt a small, but strong ki pull, he turned to look up behind him, and spotted a bald headed man floating above him. Krillin panicked, and began to fly away, but it was too late, with swift speed, Giku was suddenly in front of him, he knew he was in deep trouble now. He wondered if the kid in front of him would spare him, or kill him mercilessly. He gulped, the tension blew in the air as he faced Giku down. A crack of lightning could be seen in the background, illuminating the smirk on Giku's face. Time was now of the essence at this point for Krillin. The howling wind scarred over the area as the storm Gohan and Vegeta both seen made it's way into the area.

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**Author's Notes: **A part of Giku's story is finally revealed! What other secrets lie in Giku's past? Son and Father have also been reunited! Can they overcome this new threat without killing their opponent? And what does Giku have in store for Krillin? More darkness to come!

**Author's Preview**: Giku has an interesting plan in store for Krillin, and the Father-Son Duo finally make their first move! Chichi also prepares to leave to head to Bulma's with Shinta, and the Storm you all are so curious about finally gets it's secrets shed! Be prepared, more epicness and darkness is on the way!


	10. Uncontrollable Rage

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 10**

**Uncontrollable Rage**

**Disclaimer**: So now, we left off with Giku and Krillin face to face. Giku is about to begin his evil scheme, and all the necessary preparations are set. The thrilling part of the story begins today, and it's going to be fun for me to go through this story, get ready, because it takes an even darker turn at this point. As always, I do not own any of the character in this story, except Giku and Shinta.

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The wind howled around them, Krillin's eyes had widened in fear. He stared down the monster that had sprung to life from that of a tortured child, a child who Krillin had no idea the story of. Giku smiled sadistically at Krillin, he could hardly contain himself. Feeling that now the final preparations had been set, he decided that now was a time to start his plan of action. He needed a way to get the so called allied forces he had heard from Chichi earlier to him, this bald man was surely one of them. Giku looked up at the storm that was coming in, he vaguely recognized it, and his eyes narrowed with a clouded rage. This was the same kind of cursed storm that had been in the area when his parents died. It was a storm that was born from an uncontrollable rage.

"Hey baldy, have you ever heard of these kinds of storms before?" Giku looked at Krillin with a sinister glare on his face.

Krillin gulped, but hesitated in no time replying, "What kind of storm?" He asked.

"These kinds of storms, that one that looms over us now is one of them. It's a storm born from an uncontrollable rage, it is created when someone becomes so angry they change the very atmosphere. It follows me, because I am inflicted with an uncontrollable rage, a desire for carnage." Giku replied, then smirked, pleasure showing on his face.

Before Krillin even had time to react, Giku rushed in and nailed the bald man to the stomach with his knee, this hit caused Krillin's eyes to become unfocused, and become blank, before he passed out cold. Giku caught him, a small smile on his face, but his eyes were blank, no emotion in them, only two empty voids looking down at his prey.

"Ah ah ah." Giku said, that small smile on his face still, his eyes still with that same expression, a blank, empty look. It was the kind of look that would send chills down the spine of even a mighty, cold hearted warrior like Vegeta. Giku took Krillin by his side, and flew off, leaving just a blaze of the orange aura he usually surrounded himself with behind. Giku's chuckle echoed in the distance, things were about to get a little more interesting for the Z Warriors once their friends had begun to go missing.

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Goku was playing Gohan on the lookout. They were enjoying a rather peaceful time, with the father tickling his son, causing him to laugh uncontrollably, although Gohan admitted to himself that he was enjoying this, his guilt seemed to be clearing up. Off in the distance, Piccolo stood, and scowled a little bit, catching the attention of the Father and Son duo.

"Piccolo, what is it, what's wrong?" Goku asked worriedly, wondering why he seemed so upset.

Piccolo turned back to Goku, a passive look on his face, and he replied, "I can't sense Krillin's ki signal anymore, something seems to be blocking it."

Goku and Gohan's eyes widened, Krillin's ki signal was being blocked? Gohan's eyes turned to concern for his best friend. He had known Krillin practically all his life, and they had become really great friends. He wondered who would want to block Krillin's ki signal, and for what purpose had they intended it? Goku also had his eyes filled with concern for his friend, he too wondered why someone would want to block Krillin's ki signal. No one on the planet as far as he knew had any real purpose for doing that. Unless... Father and Son looked at each other, eyes widened.

"He's made his first move, hasn't he?" Gohan looked back to Piccolo, and Piccolo nodded, confirming their suspicion. The kid that been taken over by the ki of anger that had left Gohan, had finally struck out at one of their own. They knew the time was inevitable, but it would happen eventually. At that point, they would have to get involved, and that point had arrived, but a bit too soon for Gohan, he was enjoying the time he was spending with his father. Somehow, something always seemed to jar the peace of the world, but then, that's why they were there in the first place, to protect that peace to begin with. Gohan looked up at his father, and Goku nodded down at him.

Piccolo turned to them and spoke intently, "The time is now, move out, we need to find him as quickly as possible. I'll have the holy water prepared, but it's up to you guys to hold him off."

Goku and Gohan nodded, and without a moment's notice they were flying off the tower. They needed to save their friend, and to save the man who had been turned evil unintentionally. Gohan sighed, they were going to battle again. Vegeta, who had been watching the activities from the sidelines, took off moments later to join them.

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Chichi was busy packing the basic things she needed up. She didn't have time to worry about the fine details, getting away was more important than that. She didn't know if or when the kid known as Giku would return. She did know one thing though, he was dangerous, and she was in harms way now that she had met him. He knew where she lived, and he could use her to his advantage to hold Gohan and the others hostage. She didn't want that to happen to any of them, they needed to have their full attention focused on the task at hand, which was saving the man known as Giku.

Shinta looked at the worried expression of the woman in front of him, he had heard her story of how Giku passed by. He couldn't believe how innocent she made him seem to turn out, but he knew it was an act on Giku's part, he was still human after all, he needed to eat and drink in order to survive. Still, he didn't think he had actually traced Giku's path to the house correctly, he was certain he had been wrong. He got up out of his chair, and helped Chi Chi pack her things, he looked out the window, and decided it would be best to wait until the storm was over, after all, with that storm raging, there would be no way to travel in a car, period.

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Deep in the mountainous area, an explosion occurred. A loud yell could be heard, the sound of what appeared to be training. In the shadows of a smoke, the silhouette of a tall man, and an apparently young child appeared. The smoke cleared, and the young man was finally visible, he wore a scarf around his neck, and he was draped in a blue gi as well as blue pants, with a red obi around his waist, and red wristbands on his hands. He was fit and suited to be training in mountains, he had no hair on his face, and he had a third eye on his head. Beside him, stood a person about no taller than a kid, he had a cap on his head, with a red dot on top of it. His skin was blue, and he had red spots on his cheek, he worn the same type of heavy clothing as his partner did, only toned down to his size. The young childlike figure looked up at the tall man.

"Tien, did you sense that?" The young man asked him?

Tien looked down at him, "Sense what, Chaozu?" Tien replied.

He scanned the area, and then he noticed something. Krillin's ki had seemingly dissipated, his eyes narrowed. He couldn't sense it no matter where he tried, but it had been there only five minutes ago, that was far too fast for Krillin to have been killed. He thought about it, and came to the assumption that something, or someone, had somehow blocked off the ki of his friend. He didn't like it, no one he knew had a reason to do it, and just recently he sensed a rather strong ki signal fight with Vegeta. His eyes snapped open wide when he felt a familiar ki, Chaozu's eyes widened as his mouth opened as he felt the same ki. It was Goku's ki! Tien and Chaozu looked at each other, and without another word, they flew off into the air, leaving white trails behind them. Tien was confused, first a strong ki fights Vegeta, now Krillin's vanished, and Goku has returned? He was getting a really foreboding feeling about this.

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Goku, Gohan , and Vegeta were flying along the same mountainous area Tien and Chaozu were in, the breeze blowing in their faces. Gohan let out an involuntary shiver, the chill of the wind made him feel cold, but he continued flying onward, a little cold couldn't hurt him more than this new threat might hurt his friend. He snapped to attention, as did Goku and Vegeta, when they felt two strong, but familiar ki signals coming their way. They stopped, and Tien and Chaozu appeared in front of them, Tien gasped as he saw his old time rival and friend.

"G..Goku?" Tien shot out immediately, almost in pure shock.

Goku smiled at him, "Hey Tien, nice to see ya again!" He replied cheerfully, his usual Son smile spreading across his face.

"How are you here?" Tien asked, slight suspicion in his tone.

"He was granted the ability to come back for two whole days, he might even actually stay forever!" Gohan chirped up happily. Tien's eyes widened, he had no idea Goku would be granted such a privilege, but there had to be a catch to it.

"So, why decide to come back now?" Tien asked, concern in his voice.

Vegeta scowled coldly, and spat out his words harshly, "A new problem has come up."

Tien looked at Vegeta, he raised and eyebrow, and then turned to Goku.

Goku's expression turned serious, "Fly with us, I'll explain the entire story to you," he replied.

Tien nodded, and the five warriors took off through the mountain side again. Tien felt happy to be beside his old time friend once more, but he wondered what this new problem Vegeta was talking about was, yet he knew it had something to do with Krillin's disappearance. White trails were left in their wake as the warriors flew into the distance.

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Water seemed to fill the area, as it panned out an ocean appeared. Slowly, an island comes into view, on the island is a little Pink house, and on it reads the name "Kame House." This island is the island of the Great Turtle Hermit, Master Roshi. On the island outside the house, a young woman, wearing blue jeans, a white shirt, and a black vest over it, paces back and forth. She has blonde hair, and blue eyes which look icy cold, still, the expression of worry is shown behind them. Sitting on a chair behind her, looking concernedly out toward the ocean, is a man with a red gi on, he wears a blue obi and has blue wristbands on. His hair appears to be spiked up too, but not in the same way as Vegeta's, it has multiple points on it. In front of them, an old man with a cane in his hand stares out into the ocean, he is wearing sunglasses, is bald, and has a beard, though not too long. He had on an orange shirt, navy blue pants, and the buttons on his shirt are black. He is wearing brown sandles, and he has a turtle shell nearby him.

"Rrgh! How could this happen?" The woman paced back and forth, causing the man with the spiky hair to look at her.

"I don't know, 18, I really don't." He sighed, he didn't know what happened to Krillin.

18 turned to look at him, "I don't know either Yamcha, but I promised to date him! Now his ki signal has disappeared, what do you think, Master Roshi?" she turned to look at the old man.

Roshi sighed a little bit, "Something appears to be blocking Krillin's ki," he replied, and paused, then continued, "But I have no idea what that is. Dark times loom ahead for the Earth it would seem, and here I thought the peace would last after Cell was defeated."

18 and Yamcha's eyes both widened, that meant a new threat was on the loose, but what could this be? Before 18 could speak, Yamcha stood up out of his seat, and even more wide eyed look on his face, and Roshi's eyebrows raised, indicating that his eyes too were wide.

"T-That's Goku's ki, and he's with Tien, Chaozu, Vegeta, and Gohan, isn't he?" Yamcha asked?

Roshi could only nod, shock did not allow him to speak, he could tell they were headed to his location, probably to warn them about whatever it was that blocked Krillin's ki off. All three people looked out at the ocean intently, waiting for the 5 warriors who were already flying to arrive on the island.

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It was dark, so dark, and the sound of rustling could be heard in the background. Someone was lying on the ground, but through the darkness it was incredibly hard to see just who it was. Eventually the lighting seemed to adjust, and the person turned out to be Krillin. Slowly, his eyes seemed to open up, and he groaned a little bit, he tried to raise his hand, only to find that it was chained to a wall. In fact, both hands, and his feet where bound together with chains, and these chains weren't made with ordinary metal, he knew it would take all his strength, and then some to break them, and he was still far to tired to even try breaking out of the chains. He could hear foot steps in the room, and then suddenly Giku appeared in front of him, his eyes widened slightly, but he couldn't see the room very well to know exactly where he was. Giku smiled down at him, a smile of innocence, but once again his eyes showed no emotion, they just looked like two empty voids staring into Krillin's eyes.

"What do you want with me?" Krillin asked quietly.

Giku turned around, and walked over to a window, looking out of it, "I want nothing from you, it's your friends I want," Giku spoke in a monotone voice.

A shiver went up Krillin's spine, that voice scared him so, the emptiness behind it, it was like this kid was void of emotion, in fact, he was void of everything, even his aura seemed to be empty, it was almost like he was a ghost, like he wasn't real. Krillin wondered how a kid could be like this, how someone could be so empty inside. It scared him beyond belief, he wondered if the kid could even be saved.

"What do you want from them?" Krillin asked again softly, afraid of incurring a wrath in the young man.

"I want them to suffer, I want them to hurt, like I had to." Giku spoke once again in a monotone voice, causing Krillin to shiver again, and his eyes widened.

"Hurt, like you had to?" Krillin asked, confused by what he meant.

Giku turned back to him, the empty look in his eyes still, and Krillin stared into those empty eyes, hoping maybe he could find some hint of emotion in them.

"My name is Giku," Giku started off, then paused for a second, but continued, "I was born in a small village to the west of here. I was raised by my parents to be a strong martial artist, but I took an interest in building things as well." Giku paused again, letting out a deep breath, then continued, "Eventually I had a younger brother who was born, we had a lot of fun together, until that fateful day Cell attacked, he left behind a trail of destruction, and killed both our parents. I was never the same from that day, I trailed down into a deep sadness as time went on, I tried to be strong for Shinta, but my world fell apart without them." Giku stopped, his empty eyes still looking at Krillin. Krillin nodded at him, asking him to continue.

"Eventually I had completely isolated myself, I felt so numb inside, until one day while outside, I noticed a storm. I looked up, and the next thing I knew, a red light had flown into me. It changed me into what I am now." A sly, sinister smile crossed his face, before he continued in a dark voice, "I want vengeance for the deaths of my parents, and I will start with the man named Son Goku, then I will take it out on his son, you will be my bait," he finished this statement in monotone, and the descriptive of the words used with that tone of voice sent a major chill down Krillin's spine.

'This kid is mad' Krillin thought, he couldn't believe that the kid would honestly go through such lengths to get to his friends. He suddenly felt dizzy, and darkness creeped over his eyes again, as he slipped back into unconsciousness. Giku looked over to him, he knew he hadn't injured him enough to kill him, and he smiled slyly, the chains around Krillin's wrist and feet created a barrier, which kept his ki from being felt by the others. This gave him time to contemplate on exactly what it was he would do in the meantime, and how to plan his next assault. He looked back out the window, watching the rain as it poured down, his eyes took on a look of sadness, the first emotion he had shown since he started facing Krillin.

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Tien was flying along, a shocked look on his face, he couldn't believe what he had been told. Somehow, Gohan had exerted off a ki from finding a new friend, due to his guilt being ridded, and his rage being contained, this ki had seemingly possessed another person, driving him to be something he wasn't, and now this person was threatening the life of one of his close friends. His head snapped downward, and he noticed they were over ocean water, he had been caught up in his thoughts for so long, he hadn't even noticed the change. He knew where they were headed now though, to Master Roshi's Island, where 18, Yamcha, and Master Roshi awaited them, after this, they would instant transmission to Gohan's house, and bring them all back over to the island. It would be a lot better than Capsule Corporation, as it was located in a major city where thousands of people lived.

Kame House seemed to come into view, and he saw Yamcha, 18, and Roshi all standing, and waiting for them. They flew in close, and landed on the island in front of the others. All three people's eyes widened in shock when they saw Goku, but he stopped them before they could speak up to ask him questions.

"I know, you're all wondering how I'm here, but right now is not the time to explain that, I'll explain it later, right now there's grave danger on the horizon." Goku said, causing the others to get serious expressions.

"As you all know, Gohan deeply regretted the sacrifice I had to make, he felt guilty, like he had killed me, eventually though, someone ridded him of that guilt, the anger and sadness from that escaped his body, taking on the form of a dark ki," Goku paused to take a breath, then continued, "This dark ki has possessed someone, and driven them to be a bad person which they were originally not, this person has taken Krillin to a place where we can not sense his ki, however, if we are to fight this person, we must not kill him unless absolutely necessary," Goku concluded his speech with a hint of sadness in his voice.

18's eyes widened in shock, that one love of her life had been taken by someone who had been inflicted with a curse he should not have had. She almost felt like she could cry, she couldn't believe life could be so cruel to some people. Yamcha looked to the ground, hard and thoughtful, and wondered why the hell Krillin always had it the hardest out of all of them. Everyone remained silent before Goku spoke up

"So, what's up with you being here 18? I thought you were one of the bad guys," Goku said, looking slightly confused.

18 narrowed her eyes at him, "I was never really a bad person, just looking for some fun, and if you must know, I really love Krillin," she replied sincerely.

Goku looked at her and nodded, but he had other places he had to be. He had a wife that he needed to pick up, and bring back to the island. He also needed to pick up Bulma as well, and he knew he only had a short time before he could do so. He turned around to look at the ocean before them. It seemed so calm and peaceful, but he knew it was just the calm before the storm. Goku let out a small sigh, and one last thought crossed his mind, 'Stay alive, Krillin, I'll find you as soon as I can,' With that thought, Goku placed his hands on his head, and set himself to the task at hand, he vanished right before the others eyes, leaving them to sit there and think on what ensuing actions were to come. One thing was sure to them, though, the Earth was in danger, and it was up to them to protect it yet again.

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**Author's Notes**: Damn, that was a long chapter, wasn't it? Okay okay, on to the summary! Giku plans to use Krillin as bait, but is his motive really vengeance, or does his eyes giving off a sad look as he sees the rain suggest something else? Also, all the gang has gathered! Is there anything they can do to stop Giku's plot? And is it possible for Giku to be saved? Just wait for the next chapter, it will shed a lot of light!

**Author's Preview**: In the next chapter, Krillin wakes up again, and has another conversation with Giku shedding some light on Giku's actual intentions! Goku and Chichi also have an emotional reunion, as does Bulma with her old time friend! Gohan and Shinta also discover that Giku and Gohan had a lot in common, personality wise, and Shinta finds solace in Gohan's cheerful behavior! I will have the next chapter up as soon as I possibly can, guys, so just keep reading on!


	11. Race Against Time

**Falling Into Darkness**

**Chp 11**

**Race Against Time**

**Disclaimer: **Been sick and tired lately, but I decided to go ahead and do another fast update since I finally have the time. As always, I do not own any of the characters in this story, except for Giku and Shinta.

_The boy inside whimpered out, trying to break free froma cage. He was enclosed, with no way out, he seemed to be unable to do anything. A darkness appeared floating in front of him, it seemed to speak no words, but it's intentions were clearly readable, as the boy's eyes widened in fear at what only he could hear. He shook his head, he didn't want to do it, didn't want to kill anyone, but the darkness would never leave him alone, it would never stop agonizing him. He felt so lost inside, like it was his body, but he couldn't control what it was doing, he couldn't control it's actions at all, couldn't even control what he said or thought. The darkness had it's own agenda, and it was just using him to accomplish it's goals. He screamed out to anyone that might hear, but no one was there to listen to his cries, it was only him, and the ensuing darkness that kept agonizing him ever since it first entered his body._

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Giku awoke in a start, his eyes opened wide, sweat dripping down his forehead from the dream he just had, before they slowly went back to being calm again. The rain pattered against the window, it had been raining for several hours it seemed, with no sign of clearing up. He looked over to a wall, and there lay Krillin, the man he had kidnapped in order to use as bait. His look was a questionable one, but the question was more to himself than to Krillin. Giku's eyes became sad again, and he turned to look out the window. He felt like a part of him was missing ever since that darkness entered his body, but he was now beginning to wonder if what he was doing was the right thing, his dream played a part of that, but he was still confused by what it meant.

Krillin groaned, and slowly began to wake up, causing Giku to shift his eyes back to his direction, before looking back out the window. He looked around in a daze, and then came to see Giku, sitting at the window yet again. His eyes went to look at Giku's reflection, and he noticed the sad look that was in his eyes. His curiosity began to overtake him, he wondered now why this kid who had such empty eyes before looked so sad. He seemed to hold something dear, and Krillin wondered maybe, if that thing could be played upon, then maybe it just might be possible to save the kid from the darkness inside of his own heart. He stayed silent for a long while, not really wanting to talk, but for some reason he just couldn't help except care about the kid's condition, he finally decided to speak up.

"Hey.. umm.. can I ask you a question?" Krillin asked the young kid quietly as he looked at him.

Giku flicked his eyes back in Krillin's direction again, then turned around, speaking in a similarly quiet voice, he replied, "What is it you wish to ask?"

Krillin paused for a moment, not sure how to phrase the question, he then went on to ask it, "Why is it you look so sad?" He asked, hoping his question would elicit a response of anger from Giku.

Giku turned away from Krillin, looking back out the window, he let out a deep sigh, but replied anyway, "I don't know.. I just, feel like a part of me is actually missing."

Krillin blinked, he wondered exactly what that meant, a part of him didn't feel like himself? He wondered if maybe the darkness inside of the boy had created a multiple personality. It would make sense actually, how he had began to question his original motives, and how maybe he was having a change of heart.

"Why, would you want to kill Goku and the others?" Krillin asked, wondering why he had asked that question.

Giku closed his eyes, he sighed again, he looked back at Krillin, his eyes showing that same saddened look, and his reply came out numbingly, "I wanted someone to feel the same kind of pain I did when my parents died, but now, I'm not so sure I want to.. kill anyone.. I just want someone to understand my pain."

Krillin's eyes widened, he now understood why the kid was doing what he was doing. He was sad, alone, frustrated, and empty at the same time, and wanted to get his feelings out. The fact that the darkness from Gohan had enveloped him, did not make the proccess of grieving for him any less harder, if anything it nearly drove him insane, but this latest conversation filled Krillin with hope, maybe now Giku could actually be saved from the monster that was threatening to eat away at his soul. Krillin breathed in a relived way, maybe now he and the kid could be saved. He turned to stare at a wall, wondering what would happen from this point on.

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Goku appeared outside a house in a wooded area, a young woman with raven hair and a young boy were just packing their stuff up outside of it. When the woman looked up to see him, her eyes widened in shock, and she dropped her stuff. She could not believe that her husband was standing right before her eyes.

"G..Goku?" Chichi managed to stammer out, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Hey! I missed you, Chichi!" Goku replied cheerily.

Chichi rushed to her husband who caught her in her arms. Shinta smiled at the sight, it was the first sight of happiness he had seen in so long, and it had filled him with hope that maybe things would become better. He could tell this new person was incredibly strong, and wondered if maybe he could help save his younger brother, however he said nothing as he didn't want to put him through the trouble.

Goku swang Chichi around, before setting her down on the ground, and he looked at the kid, "Oh, hey there, what's your name?" Goku said, a smile on his face.

"I'm.. Shinta" Shinta replied shyly, a little tense at meeting a new face for the first time.

"Goku, how in the world are you here?" Chichi asked, still thinking this was a dream.

"I got permission to come back for two days, but there's no time to explain that story, we have a new delimma," Goku replied, his eyes becoming serious.

Chichi nodded a little bit, "So I heard, this young boy is the little brother of that kid, he told me the entire story."

Goku looked at him, a little shocked, but placed a hand on his shoulder, he spoke warmly, "I'm sorry this had to happen like this, but I promise, we'll find a way to save your older brother."

Shinta smiled, he knew he could trust this man's words, and all he did was nod at Goku's words.

"Well guys, put your hands on my shoulders, we need to get going back to Master Roshi's!" Goku chirped up cheerfully.

Chichi and Shinta both placed their hands on his shoulders, though Shinta was wondering why, until his eyes widened as all three of them seemingly disappeared into thin air. The wind was left to rush around the silence that now surrounded the Son Household.

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A young girl, about Gohan's age, had awoken at her cottage and read the note, she sighed gently. Her new friend had gone off, and she hoped he was alright. She could understand him needing to check up on a friend, but he had been gone for a good seven hours now, and she couldn't understand why, she looked up, and saw a jet flying overhead, but very low, and started yelling at it, trying to get the person's attention, hoping that maybe it was someone who could take her to a safer place than where she was at, as she knew about the dark energy, and had her suspicious feelings about it.

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Bulma was flying overhead in her jet, she was headed to Master Roshi's, where Yamcha and the others had planned to meet up later on that day. She heard a low sound, the sound of someone yelling, and looked down to see a little girl, trying to call her over. She decided to go check on her, and landed the jet on the ground in front of the girl, who did her best to fight against the wind, as Bulma got out, she noted how much this girl seemed to resemble Chichi when she was little, yet was slightly different in terms of facial features.

"Hi, what can I do for you?" Bulma asked, wondering why the girl called her down.

"This forest area isn't safe anymore, I need to get to a safer location, so hopefully I can figure out where my friend went." Videl chimed up, hoping the person would believe her story.

"Oh, I see, well sure, you can come with me! By the way, my name's Bulma, what's yours?" Bulma asked the girl

"Oh.. my name is Videl," The girl said, smiling her widest smile at Bulma, which caused her to giggle.

"Videl, I like that name, well hop in and let's go!" Bulma chimed, jumping into her jet. Videl climbed in as well, and looked around, amazed at all the buttons and gadges in it. Bulma smiled at her curiosity, maybe one day she would make a great technician on these kinds of things, it would be really good money for her. She pressed a button, pulled back on the controls, and they were off in the air again, on their way to Master Roshi's.

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Goku, Chichi, and Shinta had arrived at Master Roshi's, and Goku had just finished explaining the fine details of the story. Chichi sighed, she couldn't believe Krillin would be the one to be kdinapped, she was so certain that it should have been her instead, but somehow Giku hadn't found a means by which to kidnap her, instead he went after Krillin.

Off in the distance, Gohan was staring out at the Ocean, when he noticed a presence beside him, he looked and turned to see Shinta, and blinked a little bit, wondering why the kid had seemingly stuck around him. Did he really give off such a nice presence, or was it that he resembled Shinta's older brother, curiosity overtook him, and he had to ask the question.

"Hey, shouldn't you be conversing with the others?" Gohan asked Shinta awkwardly.

Shinta looked down at the ground, and replied gently, "Something about you.. reminds me of my older brother."

Gohan blinked a little bit, but let Shinta continue onward, "You seem so cheery, so happy, and so calm, it was exactly the same way he was, he never let anything get to him.. I miss that."

Gohan looked at the kid who was standing beside him, and smiled a little bit, he had found solace in something for once, knowing that he could help someone overcome their problems made Gohan feel a well of happiness build up inside of him.

"I'm glad I can make you think of good memories," Gohan replied, smiling at Shinta. Shinta looked up at him, and saw that warm smile he had seen on his brother's face so many times before, and his eyes welled up with tears. Without thinking, Shinta threw himself up against Gohan and began to cry, Gohan blinked, initially shocked by the action, but smiled shortly after, and pulled the young kid into an embrace. He knew that Shinta needed this, he needed desperately to cry, to rid himself of the pain that had been building up inside of him over what he was sure was the third day by this point. At least now he knew the story behind Giku, as Shinta told them all what had happened, but Gohan's heart went out to Giku the most. He felt like he could relate to his situation, he had once felt that numb inside, after his father had died, and he thought he was the cause of it. He wondered if Giku hsd felt the same way.

After some time, he felt Shinta calm down, and he looked down to see the boy asleep, he smiled, but turned his head upward as he heard footsteps, his father had come over to see what they were doing, and he smiled as he realized what had happened.

"He cried himself to sleep, didn't he?" Goku asked, looking down at Shinta.

Gohan nodded slowly, he wished he spoke to his father all the time, something about his dad's voice seemed to make everything better. It seemed to make all his worries go away, he could just revel in that feeling, the feeling of being happy no matter what was actually going on around, even if there was a world that might be falling apart, Gohan wouldn't care so long as his father was with him. He looked back down at Shinta, and wondered if he was sleeping peacefully after crying. A part of him wanted to get up, but instincts as a brother seemed to kick in, and he pulled Shinta tighter to him, causing Goku to smile at his son, he knew his son would do his best to make Shinta happier, for once, he had a more important role than just saving the world. Both people's heads snapped up as the sound of a jet flew overhead, as did everyone else's.

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Bulma was flying overhead in her jet, while Videl was inspecting the ocean below from the Jet's windows, suddenly she saw a small island come into view, and a house on it, with many different people standing around, and she blinked, wondering if they had been stranded there, but decided against that thought since she saw Gohan down there, she smiled, she had found her friend again.

"Miss Bulma, there's the island you were looking for! And look, Gohan's down there!" Videl chirped up, causing Bulma to turn her head in that direction. To her surprise, Gohan was down there, and she wondered if after having ran around, Gohan had met her, she smiled at that thought, that kid was only 12, and already he was making girlfriends, what would Chichi do with him when she found out, well, she didn't want to find out that thought. Her eyes however, widened when she saw another familiar face as they got closer, a face she hadn't seen for the past year, a face she thought she'd never see again, the face of the young warrior who had become one of her greatest friends.

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A jet landed on the island of Master Roshi's, and out hopped Bulma and Videl, Gohan's eyes widened when he saw his friend again, he had forgotten to go back and pick her up. Goku and the others blinked, all trying to figure out who this little girl was, but Goku looked up to Bulma and smiled at her.

"Hi Bulma! Long time no see!" Goku chimed up, his usual Son smile on his face.

"G..Goku? What are you doing here?" She choked out, almost in tears at seeing her old friend.

"I was granted the ability to return for two days, but nevermind that, have you heard the story?" Goku asked her eagerly.

"I heard enough to figure out what was going on, Gohan's friend Videl told me all the details," Bulma said, pointing at the young girl.

The others all gasped, they now realized that this was the girl who had befriended Gohan, which ultimately caused the energy to come out. Chichi and Yamcha were both shocked, Gohan looked at the ground, Goku looked startled, and both Tien and Vegeta looked mildly shocked at the situation at hand.

After laying Shinta on the ground softly, Gohan got up and walked over to his friend, he smiled at her, "Hey, it's good to see you again," he said happily.

She couldn't help but smile back, that cheerfulness of his was contagious, and she chimed in her reply, "It's good to see you again as well!"

The others wondered if maybe something more would happen with this relationship as Videl and Gohan walked over to sit by the ocean, and chat ildly about the happenings that were occuring lately, meanwhile Yamcha, Tien, and Vegeta all turned to look at Goku.

"Well Goku, do you know where we go from here?" Yamcha perked up, causing 18, Bulma, and Chichi to look in their direction.

"No, Yamcha, I don't even know where to begin to look, I won't until Shinta wakes up, there's bound to be a part of Giku left if he hasn't killed anyone yet, so maybe he's hanging out in a favorite spot or something." Goku replied, sounding half intelligent yet half naive at the same time.

Vegeta crossed his arms, letting his thoughts run over what had happened earlier, and how his battle with Giku had turned out, he wondered if Kakarot would be able to defeat this potent new fighter, hell, he wondered if even Gohan, who was the strongest out of the entire group, would be able to defeat this powerful new foe that appeared. He looked over at the young boy, as he sat chit-chatting with Videl, and turned away, giving off his trademark "hmph."

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Gohan and Videl were looking out at the Ocean, she was staring intently out to it, her mind wandering to the story Gohan had told her, and about how her father hadn't really been the one to defeat Cell. Deep down, she knew it was true, she knew her father couldn't have mustered up such power, but now her mind wandered elsewhere, about the kid that had been overtaken by that dark thing that had come out of Gohan, then she turned to look at Gohan.

"Hey, Gohan?" She asked him quietly, causing him to look at her.

"What's up?" Gohan replied, wondering why she was being so quiet.

She turned away nervously, but looked back to him, and asked another question, "Will you come back alive from this fight?"

He blinked a little bit, but smiled at her, "Yeah, I think we can save him, so it won't be a fight to the death this time around.. I hope, why do you ask?"

Videl blushed a little bit, and nervously asked her question, "Umm.. do you think, after that fight is over, that maybe we could.. go on a date?" She asked, still blushing slightly

Gohan's eyes widened at her question, and he looked away, a blush forming on his face, he didn't know how to answer that. He had felt feelings for her he had never felt for anyone else before, but he wasn't sure what they meant, he finally looked back at her after making his decision.

"Sure, why not, we can give it a shot, right?" He said, smiling brightly at her, a blush still on his face. She smiled widely as his response, and gave him a kiss on the cheek, which caused his eyes to widen, and his blush to get deeper. They sat there quietly, staring out at the ocean, reveling in the sound of the waves lapping up against the sand on the isle, quietly contemplating how their date would go when Gohan returned from his fight, and wondering if Giku could actually be saved.

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Giku looked up, he could sense that everyone was gathered together, he knew that now was the time. He got up, and walked over to Krillin, causing Krillin to freeze up with fear, however, his fear was turned to shock, when he suddenly heard the clicking of chains, and felt his feet and hands being unbound. He looked up at Giku, a confused look on his face, and he noticed the look in Giku's eyes seemed different, it seemed much more calm, and less empty, more like a normal person's eyes would be.

"I've made my decision on what I want to do," Giku said to Krillin softly.

"And what decision is that?" Krillin asked, wondering why Giku would suddenly let him go.

"I want you to raise your ki to bring your friends here, you'll see what my decision is once they arrive." Giku replied, turning to look back towards the window, Krillin looked over as well, and noticed the rain was letting up. He wondered if Giku was on the path to redemption, but knew that he wouldn't truly be saved until the darkness in his mind was destroyed completely, he had no idea when Giku would snap again, but he had somewhat gotten him to calm down. Closing his eyes, he begin to focus, and his Ki slowly began to rise. Giku turned back to watch him, and both of them waited patiently for his friends to receive the signal, one thing was certain, the race against time for whether or not Giku could truly be saved had begun.

**Author's Notes: **So yeah, I left a lot of things out in the last preview, well, that's because the preview is a sypnosis of what's going to happen, and I like throwing surprise twists in there. So Giku has finally revealed his intentions, and has made a decision, but what exactly is that decision? One thing's for sure, there is still hope for him, but is Piccolo ready to put his plan into motion? Also, what will happen with Gohan and Videl's new relationship? Is Videl's love a sign of foreboding for Gohan? What will happen once the final battle begins?! And how will Chichi react when she learns of this?! Lot's more to come in the ensuing chapter!

**Author's Preview: **The race against time has begun! Krillin's Ki draws attention from his friends, and Goku and Gohan finally meet their adversary for the first time! Piccolo finally comes back into picture, setting his phase of action into motion, while Videl and Chichi have a discussion about Videl's feelings for Gohan, and whether or not Gohan will make it out of this fight alive. Also, keep your eyes pealed, there may just be another plot twist involved!


	12. Light and Darkness

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 12**

**Light and Darkness**

**Disclaimer: **Guess who's back, and with a new chapter update of his original story? I've decided to put A Father's Legacy on hold, since I wanted to finish my original and first fanfiction before I continue onward with that one. I still have some ideas for this fanfiction, but it's coming to a close, and likely will end here pretty soon. However, I know at least one person has been patiently waiting, and hopefully more people will come to enjoy this story. Without further ado, I give you Chapter 12 of Falling into Darkness. As per usual, I do not own any of the characters in this series, I only own Giku. The Dragonball cast themselves belong to Akira Toriyama

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Gohan and Goku snapped their heads into action, as did everyone else. They had all felt it, Krillin's ki signal had rose up, a sign that he was still alive. This was it, Gohan and Goku knew what they had to do, they needed to track him down and fast, otherwise they might lose their one lead to where Giku was at.

Goku turned back around, "Listen up! If you guys are going to come with us, then we need to move fast, and no one is to fight him except for Gohan, is that understood?!" he said with a fiery determination in his eyes, the others nodded affirmatively.

Chi Chi stepped up to her husband, "Please be okay, Goku," Chi Chi said sincerely, her worry showing in her eyes.

"I'll be fine, Chi Chi," he gave her a sincere reply, and a kiss on the lips, to which everyone smiled at.

"Will you be alright?" Videl asked Gohan, gaining the attention of everyone as they turned their eyes to the new couple.

Gohan gave his new girlfriend a curt nod, "I'll be fine, just you watch!" he said optimistically and proudly, to which she smiled at his enthusiasm

Gohan turned to his father and nodded, and with that, all the fighters flew off, with the exception of Chi Chi, Bulma, Master Roshi, Chaozu, Puar, Oolong, and Shinta.

_'Please be alright, big brother,' _Shinta thought desperately.

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Giku's head snapped up, as he sensed the ki of the other warriors heading in their direction. A fond smile came across his face, as he felt his little brother's ki off in the distance. Krillin watched the face of the boy, and wondered if this boy could really be as tormented as he said he was. However, it was obvious that there was a truth behind his words, why else would he have done what he did? Not that Krillin blamed him, he would have done the same had he been in his shoes, that much was completely obvious. There was much more to the young boy than meets the eye, and you could definitely see the pain behind them if you looked closely enough. Krillin knew he would have to wait, but the wonder of what his decision might have been was agonizing him. Would he kill the others, or did he simply want to fight until his heart's content? Only time would tell, and hopefully the darkness would not resurge throughout the time the others were fighting with him. He closed his eyes, and let out a soft sigh as he remembered his friends, and his new blonde girlfriend. A smile came across his face, which didn't go unnoticed by Giku.

"Who are you thinking about?" Giku asked suddenly, startling the monk.

"I was.. just thinking about someone I love deeply," Krillin replied, a small blush on his cheek.

Giku smiled a little bit, "I see. Sometimes, I wish I could see my brother again.. I wonder if he would look at me the same," Giku said sadly.

Krillin blinked, not expecting that, but laughed lightheartedly, "Hey, I'm sure he still loves you, he's probably worried sick about you," he replied gaily.

Giku just nodded, and Krillin found it odd. This kid had injured and kidnapped him only a day ago, yet here they were talking as if they were friends. He wondered how this came about, it seemed so easy to talk to Giku, and he wondered if maybe he had an effect that kept the darkness at bay, or if maybe Giku was somehow fighting it himself.

"Light and Darkness," Giku whispered to himself, causing Krillin to blink, but he said nothing as Giku continued, "That is what I am made of. My decision is not to kill your friends, however, I can not say I will be able to fight the darkness forever." Giku concluded his statement sincerely, and Krillin felt sorry for the kid at this point. No one deserved to be tortured like this. They both turned their heads back to the skies, waiting for the others, and sensing a new Power Level had joined them. Giku didn't know who it was, but Krillin knew that it was Piccolo.

Giku looked at the monk, and spoke up, "I'll be right back, I'm going to fetch a drink of water."

Krillin simply nodded, and Giku ran off to go to a well that was just around the back of the house, a small distance away in the forest. He got to the well, and grabbed the handle, slowly cranking it, watching as the bucket lowered into the water below. He then began to crank it in the opposite direction, pulling the bucket back up to him, and took a little cup he had brought with him, filled it up with the water, and drank out of it. He lost his grip on the cup however, as he felt a strong ki signal flare up back at the house, a ki so strong it could almost rival his own at half of his full power. He charged back towards the house at full speed, and when he got there, he noticed that Krillin was knocked out cold, and the ki chains that he had on the ground just outside the house had vanished.

_'Interesting, another fighter who hasn't openly picked a side yet, huh?' _Giku mused to himself, _'But why did they take the ki chains, and why did they feel the need to knock out Krillin?'_

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Piccolo had joined with the others now, and he had explained them to the exact details of the plan. Gohan was to fight Giku for a little while to distract him while they kept an eye on Krillin to see what kind of condition he was in, and then after an opening presented itself in the fight, Piccolo would hand the water off to Gohan, and Gohan would use the holy water in order to remove the darkness inside of him. The tricky part was getting an opening, since they knew little to nothing about Giku's fighting style other than that Vegeta had told them, and even then the Prince hadn't gotten a good scope of just how vast the fighting style Giku used was.

Gohan gasped out, followed by the rest of the group, and they all stopped abruptly, as they felt a strong ki flare up out of nowhere, Krillin's ki drop, and Giku's ki, who had moved away from the house, come rushing back to it.

"Yamcha!" Goku spoke up, "Go back and warn the others about this! Hurry!"

Yamcha nodded, and took off back towards Master Roshi's house, flying as fast as he possibly could. He knew that the others needed to know about this, because there was yet a third fighter who had appeared on the scene, and they didn't know exactly why he had appeared, or what it was that he wanted.

Everyone ekse was now flying in silence at this point, keeping track of Giku's ki signal. As they moved in closer, over the horizon they noticed the small outline of a house, with the figure of a young boy standing outside of it, a young boy who looked very similar to Gohan, and they knew then that he could be none other than Giku. Beside him, was Krillin, who appeared to be laying flat out on the ground.

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Giku watched as all of the fighters got closer, and he immediately picked out Vegeta as the only fighter he could remember among the group, having fought with him earlier. He also noticed a young boy who looked very similar to himself in a blue fighting gi much like his own, a green man with a cape and turban on, a girl with blonde hair had joined the group, she had on a black vest with a t-shirt underneath it, and blue jeans to boot at that, he also noticed a bald headed warrior in a white shirt and green pants, as well as a man with spiky hair sticking out in every direction in a red gi that covered his entire body.

The fighters landed on the ground, with Gohan standing at the forefront of them, his gaze fixated on Giku as he studied the boy who looked almost like a carbon-copy replica of himself. _'I wonder if he likes books,' _Gohan thought, before shaking his head, and getting his act together. He didn't need to be thinking about stupid stuff like that, he needed to be focusing on the task at hand, which was getting Giku away from Krillin so the others could check on him.

Goku was the first to speak up, "So, what happened to Krillin?" he asked in a calm, collected manner.

Giku shrugged his shoulders a little bit, "I was away from the house, a strong ki appeared, when I got back, he was out cold, and someone stole my ki chains."

"Ki chains?" Vegeta asked, suddenly curious about this.

"They are devices that I crafted myself, you place the chain around a person's hand, then embed it into a solid object, and it suppresses the ki of others." Giku explained, and everyone's eyes widened in amazement, this kid was purely a genius if he could do something like that all on his own.

Giku chuckled a little, and then smiled as he turned his eyes onto Gohan, a coy look in them as he spoke up, "So, you must be the one known as Gohan, the one where all of this energy came from. Did you really hate yourself so much for that incident?"

A pang of guilt sparked in Gohan's brain, and flooded throughout his entire body, the memory of what had happened a year ago coming back to him full force now. He had hated himself deeply for that, but tried to hide it from everyone, however, he knew there was no point in keeping it a secret from the others anymore.

"Yeah, I did, but that's in the past," Gohan replied half heartedly, shocking the others, but only causing Giku's smile to widen.

"If it's really all in the past, why did it sound like you were trying to convince yourself there?" Giku asked nonchalantly.

Gohan's eye twitched a little bit, as he analyzed the question inside of his mind. Why did he sound like he was trying to convince himself of what had happened there? Especially since his own father was right behind him, but then it dawned on him what it was, it was the fact that his father only had another day left on the planet. He knew Goku said he might stay, however, he also knew how the mind of his father worked, and as much as he hated to admit it, his father likely didn't want to put the Earth in anymore danger.

His thoughts were interrupted by a small chuckle, and he looked up just in time to see a sinister look come across Giku's eyes, and he remembered how they looked much like the cold, magenta eyes of the monster known as Cell. The others all noticed it too, and Gohan gulped, wondering what just happened.

"Well then, let's get started, shall we?" Giku asked with a sadistic bite in his voice that sent chills up and down Gohan's spine.

Without even a small amount of warning, Gohan suddenly felt an incredible force smash into his body, and send him sailing through the air, the words of his father being the last thing he heard before he left their view, and vanished into the distance, "GOHAN!"

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Videl let out a long and dreadful sigh. She tried to calm herself down, but her fear for Gohan's life was making her feel sick. She knew how strong he was, and that he was the one who actually defeated Cell, however, that still didn't change the fact that she worried for him. He was her first boyfriend, and hopefully it would stay that way, but it couldn't if he ended up dying on her before they even had a chance to extend their bond towards each other anymore.

Her musing was interrupted when a hand was placed on her shoulder, she blinked, and turned around to look behind her, only to come face to face with Gohan's mother, the Ox Princess Chi Chi.

"Oh, h-hi, Chi Chi," Videl said in the most respectful tone possible, causing the ox princess to smile.

"Please, you don't have to speak to me like that," Chi Chi said, and continued, "I came out here to talk to you about Gohan."

"You came out here to talk to me about Gohan?" Videl asked, confused on why she would want to talk about her son.

"Yes, I think everyone's noticed this, but you harbor great feelings towards him, don't you?" Chi Chi asked inquisitively

Videl blushed furiously at that comment, and looked away, earning a small giggle from Chi Chi, it was true, she did love Gohan.

"Relax Videl, I understand how you feel, you're hoping he makes it out of this alive as well." Chi Chi stated in a knowing tone.

Videl merely nodded, "Yes.. I-I.. I love him.." Videl finally said solemnly, causing a smile to cross Chi Chi's face yet again, however, their conversation was interrupted by a high pitched voice.

"Wh-what the?!" The voice came from Chaozu, and the others turned around to look at him.

"What's wrong, Chaozu?" The old voice of Master Roshi spoke up as he came to check on the blue skinned telepathic.

"I-I just sensed an incredibly strong ki burst up for a split second, then it vanished, a long with Shinta's faint human ki!" Chaozu exclaimed, "It had to be at least as strong as Goku as a Super Saiyan, if not at least as strong as Cell's full power before he revived!"

Everyone gasped, including Roshi, as he spoke with wisdom in his voice, "Hmm, this poses a problem indeed. So now we have an unidentified fighter who has yet openly pick a side, and Shinta has apparently vanished with him. However, who is it, and what does he want with the boy?"

Roshi's question was answered only by a telepathic voice, with a smooth tone to it, and yet demanding at the same time,

(_'__**Do not be alarmed, the boy will be fine, if all goes well, he and his brother will be reunited once again.**_')

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Yamcha was flying straight through the air, on his way back to Kame House in order to tell the others of what had just transpired. He had no way to describe it, or even how the ki felt like, the best way he could possibly describe it was that it was at least as strong as Cell at his full power.

_'Oh man, this isn't good at all, I wonder who it was?' _Yamcha thought to himself, suddenly getting intensely worried. Another thought was just about to process through his head, but it was lost as he instantly came to a screeching halt, creating a shockwave that spread across the water itself.

He had felt it, that same ki as before, it had flared up for just a split second, before vanishing yet again, but this time he felt another faint ki vanish with it, though he couldn't pinpoint who it was. Yamcha gulped, and flared up his aura again, flying towards Kame House as quickly as possible.

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Gohan managed to right himself in mid-air, only to see a red aura coming straight towards him, before stopping right in front of him and fading. Giku floated in front of him, a mad-man's smile on his face. Giku let out another chuckle, and Gohan growled, his muscles bulging outward and expanding, a few more spikes of hair appearing on his head, and a golden aura surrounding him as he transformed into a Super Saiyan. Giku smiled, and a red aura surrounded him as he started to power up, shaking the entire foundation of the landscape around them. After a few seconds, the aura stabilized around him, and Gohan let out a gulp as he realized that their level of power was currently even.

Giku was the first person to make a move, as he shot through the air, launching a vicious right hook at the young warrior, but Gohan raised right arm just in time to block the shot, and he threw out his left fist as hard as he could, catching Giku off guard and sending him sailing straight through the air. He charged forward at Giku, and launched a kick at him, only to have Giku right himself and fly upward just in time to avoid the kick. The two warriors flew back at each other, and began throwing a wild flurry of physical attacks at each other, each person trying to gain the advantage, but both of them being dead even.

Gohan was the first person to disengage from the combat, flying backwards and breathing a little profusely, trying to gain a few seconds of rest, as he stared at Giku, wondering how he went from being so calm to becoming an insane kid who's only objective was to kill the person he was fighting. Finally, it registered in Gohan's cerebellum just what exactly was going on with Giku, it wasn't just that the aura itself had inflicted Giku, and caused his despair to heighten ten-fold, but it also caused him to suffer from the traumatic condition known as Bipolar Disorder.

_'Great,' _Gohan thought, _'So now we're dealing with a manic-depressive who currently has enough power to destroy the entire universe.'_

A small, light-hearted chuckle came from Giku's lips, as he spoke out, "You know, Gohan, why don't we take a minute to talk?"

Gohan blinked, wondering what the hell was going on, they went from fighting to him suddenly wanting to talk?

Giku saw the confusion on Gohan's face, and chuckled all the more, "I'll explain to you some things. You see, a year ago," Giku paused, as if he were trying to recollect a memory from the recesses of his mind, before continuing onward, "A year ago, my parents were killed by the monster known as Cell." Giku paused again, as he saw Gohan's eyes widen, a devious smirk coming across his face.

"Yes, the same monster you defeated, he killed my parents, and I was stricken with grief because of it. I loved my parents dearly, more than anyone else on this planet, and they were taken away from me with the single stroke of a tail." Giku continued his dialect onward, but paused yet again, a look of raging fury coming across his face.

"As time went on, I continued to spiral deeper into a depression, slowly the joy that I had from doing my job faded, the joy I got from the little things in life had disappeared, and even the joy I had received from spending time with my brother had faded," Giku paused again, letting out a sigh before continuing, "I locked myself away in my room to wallow in my own miseries, my brother occasionally bringing me food from time to time, and then, the one day I finally decide to take my first steps out the door, a blinding flash of light hit me, and I was awakened to a realization." Giku finished his dialect, with a look on his face that dared Gohan to ask him what that realization was.

Gohan gulped a little bit, dreading the next question that would come out of his mouth, but knowing that it needed to be asked, and so he asked, "What was it that you realized?"

A sadistic laughter came from Giku's mouth, and he opened it to answer the question, "I realized that no one else had ever gone through what I had before at such a young age, no one had to truly watch their parents be ripped away from them, unable to do anything about it, and so now," Giku paused, a demoniacal grin coming across his face, "Now I want the whole world to suffer what I had to go through, and I'm going to start by taking away it's greatest hero!" Giku exclaimed, and he charged straight toward Gohan increasing his speed, and taking the young warrior off guard as he nailed him in the face with his elbow.

Gohan went crashing down to the ground, but managed to flip back up on his feet, only to realize that Giku was nowhere to be seen. _'Impossible,' _Gohan thought, _'How can he be even faster than me at this stage of power?!'_

His thoughts however were interrupted by the sound of chuckling that was coming from directly behind him, followed by a voice that was so soft in tone, it almost sounded as those it were coming from a ghost, "By the way, I forgot to warn you about the fact that I was holding back." Gohan's eyes widened, and his whole body froze in horror as Giku's laughter resounded across the entire forest area.

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**Author's Notes: **So, what did you guys think of that, eh? I finally decided to get back into this story because I felt it needed an update, and I feel like I have more of a direct fanbase now. I figured I'd go ahead and finish this story off as soon as possible. Yes, I know, I left it with a cliffhanger hehehe! So, what's going to happen with the fight between Giku and Gohan? Will Piccolo's plan actually work out? Will Gohan survive the fight? Who is this mysterious person that has appeared? And what does he want with Shinta? All these questions and more will be answered in the next chapter! By the way, how many of you guys actually want a sequel to this? I'll be keeping track of who says yes and who says no.

**Author's Preview: **In the next chapter, Gohan and Giku's fight begins to get heated up, meanwhile Goku and the others check up on Krillin and prepare to put Piccolo's plan into motion. Yamcha arrives at Kame House, and attempts to explain to the others what's going on. Stay tuned for more action packed awesomeness from the next chapter, because this fanfiction will be coming to an end soon.


	13. The Final Battle

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 13**

**The Final Battle**

**Disclaimer: **Here it is ladies and gentlemen, the final battle of this fanfiction itself. This will probably be the longest chapter I've done, and I'm going one chapter more than I predicted I would go. Don't be alarmed though, this certainly isn't the end, as I'll be doing a sequel which will be titled 'Guardian of Light' and will likely take place during the Buu saga. As always, I do not own any of the characters in the Dragonball series, the only characters of this fanfiction that belong to me are Giku and Shinta.

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Goku patted Krillin on the face, and a low groan came from the monk. Slowly, his eyes began to flutter, and lids that were once closed began to open. He looked up to the face of his old friend staring down at him, and he could hardly believe his eyes. Suddenly sitting up in a shocked frenzy, his eyes darted around as he remembered the powerful ki that had appeared before he had suddenly been knocked out cold.

"Hey, it's alright, we're here now," Goku said, trying to calm his friend down as best as he could, "You don't have to worry anymore."

"Whoa, who was that guy that appeared earlier?" Krillin asked confusedly.

"I don't know, but it is rather annoying, yet another person we have no idea about has shown up," a certain Saiyan Prince growled as he said this, "That kid's power has also grown, it looks like Gohan will have to break the wall again if he wants to win."

Goku nodded, "Yeah, and we still have to put Piccolo's plan into motion, don't we?"

"If we don't do something fast, it could be the end of both of them," Piccolo said in his usual gruff voice.

"I agree with you on that Piccolo, we need to do something here." Tien responded.

"I just hope Giku stays alive." Krillin said a bit solemnly, surprising the others at that comment. Just how much had Krillin gotten to know Giku over the past day? Only time would tell for sure, and the others turned their heads back toward the battlefront, feeling the surge of ki that alerted them to the fact Gohan had transformed into the Ascended stage of Super Saiyan.

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Gohan turned around, and attempted a punch at Giku, connecting with him square on the cheek, however, the young warrior barely budged at inch. A devious smirk came across Giku's face, and he kneed Gohan in the stomach, causing Gohan's eyes to widen immensely, and a loud yelp to escape his open lips. Gohan coughed up some blood, before a stinging pain hit his cheek, and he was flung across the battlefield, where his back crashed into a tree, almost feeling as though if the impact had been any harder, it would probably have broken his spine. The young demi-Saiyan let out a grunt of pain as he slowly brought himself back to his feet, and stared at Giku. Giku began to laugh again, and only at that point did Gohan realized that Giku had changed. His skin had become a bit paler, almost reminding him of the same skin that Frieza had. His eyes had taken on a more magenta like appearance, and the black hair that once covered his body had been laced over with silver. His muscles were bigger, and it almost appeared like his size had increased slightly in nature. Two purple marks ran down the side of his face, reminding him eerily of the cockroach like humanoid that was known as Cell. In fact, a lot of Giku's appearance now reminded him more of Cell than it did of Frieza. Minus a stinger on his back, and the fact that he had a human body, one would almost believe he was inhuman.

_'Must be the effect of increasing his power to his Maximum through the Darkness, huh?' _Gohan thought wisely to himself, a shudder going down his spine as he continued to notice the resemblance to Cell Giku had suddenly gained.

"So, is this all you have to offer for me Gohan? If so, I'm afraid this will grow boring very quickly.

"Not a chance! This battle isn't over yet!" Gohan let out a ferocious scream after saying this, and his hair began to spike up on end. His aura flared around him again, and started to grow in immensity, in addition to this his muscles on his legs increased in size, and the muscles are his arm also grew bigger and bulged more. The muscles on his chest expanded, and lightning began to crackle through his aura as his ki increased exponentially. With an even louder scream, Gohan finally completed his Ascension to the next level of Super Saiyan.

"Now there is a good show." Giku said in an amused voice, dripping with malicious intent. With that he and Gohan charged at each other to resume their fight, now with their powers increased to the highest they could possibly go.

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Chaozu and Master Roshi's head suddenly snapped up, and they saw a faint light in the distance.

"Hey, what are you guys looking at?" Oolong asked.

"It's Yamcha, he's come back." Roshi responded calmly.

Everyone looked up to the sky now, as the light in the distance slowly turned into Yamcha's body, and he slipped back down to the Earth now, landing softly on the ground and facing the others with a fearful expression. Roshi nodded, knowing immediately what was going on with his pupil.

"So, you felt it to?" Roshi asked.

"Yeah, first we felt it when it appeared right near where that kid and Krillin were, then I felt it appear again here before I could arrive to explain to you guys what had happened." Yamcha responded.

"Hmm, yes well, we received a message, it said not to worry about Shinta, he would be reunited with his brother soon," Roshi responded, then paused for a moment to contemplate something, before continuing, "It was delivered telepathically."

"Telepathically?!" Yamcha asked in a shocked manner.

"Yes, whoever it is has his own plans for helping Giku it would seem, and he wanted Shinta for that reason." Roshi responded.

Everyone's mood suddenly fell, as Yamcha, Chaozu, and Roshi all turned towards the horizon, feeling Gohan's ki rise as he transformed into an Ascended Super Saiyan.

"Whoa, he hasn't used that since he fought with Cell." Yamcha said.

"Yes, it is a difficult fight for the young man, but I think he can handle it." Roshi responded, not before adding as afterthought, _'However, will they be able to save him?'_

Silence overtook the island, and all thought of the previous powerful ki was pushed to the back of their minds as they waited in suspense for the end of the fight that was progressing now.

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Punch after punch, kick after kick, Gohan and Giku continued to collide with each other, but they were unable to get an opening on the opposing party. Giku moved in for an uppercut, only to be swiftly blocked by Gohan's hand, Gohan then retaliated with a bone shattering kick, but Giku blocked with his own knee. Finally they entered a grapple, and their knees began to collide as they tried to overpower each other. Giku then grinned, and pulled his head back, then flung it forward catching Gohan off guard. The ensuing effect sent Gohan flying away from Giku, and Giku charged up a ki blast which he then shot off at Gohan. The blast appeared to be headed in a straight bee-line for Gohan, and exploded in a force a thousand times that of a nuclear bomb. As the smoke rose into the air, Giku's grin turned into a passive looked as he searched the area. There was no way Gohan could have been killed by an attack like that.

Unfortunately his reaction time was to slow, because just as he turned around, a kick smashed into his cheek, and sent him flying several yards away. He crashed into a multitude of trees, and a ki blast was the follow up to his impact, creating an explosion that left a massive blemish in the Earth's crust. Gohan sucked in a soft breath, and then exhaled it. An explosion of red light however, alerted him to the fact that his opponent was very much alive, and slowly out of the Earth rose a very amused looking Giku. Finally reaching aerial height with his opponent, Giku let out a small chuckle.

"I'm impressed Gohan," he said, his cold Magenta eyes looking right at the Demi-Saiyan, "I didn't expect anyone in this world to be so strong."

"Yes well, I never believed a human would be this strong." Gohan stated in an honest, but smug manner.

"Heh heh, don't get too arrogant, this fight is far from over." Giku's smirk widened into a devious grin.

Gohan's brow on his left eye creased, as Giku's aura suddenly flared up, and his power began to increase. His eyes widened however, when he realized that Giku was powering up an attack. He brought his hands up to his face, and crossed them in an X-like shape, hoping to shield himself from the oncoming attack. Giku's arms slowly began to extend outward, and then he brought them up over his head, cupping one palm behind the other.

Gohan's eyes widened with horror, _'Wait a minute, that's my-'_

"MASENKO-HA!" Giku shouted out, and Gohan's thoughts were interrupted by a bright yellow flash of light heading his way. He barely had time to dodge the oncoming mass of Chi, and the Masenko crashed into the ground, creating an incredibly powerful explosion that seemed to rock the very foundation of the Earth itself. Gohan let out some pants, and looked up to his opponent with wide eyes.

_'The energy didn't just give him more power, he knows all of my attacks too!' _Gohan thought in shock.

Both fighters turned their heads to the ground as six sets of Ki suddenly appeared. Gohan gaped a little to see Goku, Piccolo, Vegeta, Tien, and Krillin all show up.

_'Wait a minute, there are only five people down there, where's the sixth ki coming from?!' _Gohan asked himself. He noticed that the others also seemed to realize there was a sixth ki around, and even Giku seemed to notice it, however none of them could pinpoint it's exact location.

Giku looked back at Gohan, and seeing the advantage he had, a smirk crossed his face, and he charged towards the fighter across for him, covering the distance swiftly. Gohan barely had time to react before a fist slammed into his face, and sent him flying backwards. He righted himself in mid air however, and charged after Giku surprising him. His head connected with Giku's stomach, and Giku let out a gasp of pain as the wind was knocked out of him. The effect didn't last long however, and in only a second, Giku and Gohan were exchanging punches and kicks wildly again.

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"Man oh man, look at em go!" Krillin exclaimed, trying to keep his eyes on the two fighters, though it was obvious there was no way he could keep up with them.

Goku and Vegeta had both transformed into Super Saiyans at this point, but even with their increased senses and power, they were barely able to keep up with the battle itself. A loud explosion shook the area in front of them, as Giku went crashing into the ground. Only to come out of it a second later, rushing back to his opponent and engaging him in combat again. Piccolo on the other hand, had explained to them that they would need a direct opening in order to hit Giku with the holy water, and was watching for that opening. Unfortunately for the Namek, he realized that his task would be far more problematic than he originally thought. The battle above raged on, and even though they were more focused on the fight, all of them had the same thought in mind. Where was the sixth ki coming from?

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Giku and Gohan continued their vicious assault, each blow landed was countered immediately upon impact. Both of them were even in power, and one of them would eventually begin to wear down. The question remained as to which of them would be the person who would exhaust the quickest. Finally, the two fighters backed off from each other, trying to catch their breath as they panted. A bead of sweat ran down Giku's head, he quickly wiped it away though, and his breathing was slightly labored, though not immensely so. Blemishes and bruises covered his face, arms, and chest area. Blood dripped down the side of his lip, and from an open wound on his forehead. Gohan wasn't much better, blood also dribbled down from a wound on his open head, and many scratch marks as well as bruises covered his body. In only a ten minute time period, that had already managed to damage every part of their body, some were gashes so deep that there would be scars left over from them.

Giku looked down at the ground, and a small smirk crossed his face. He knew of a way to end this battle once and for all, what he needed however, was to get the Z fighters involved. Due to the attacks they had been throwing off, some of the fighters were forced to separate due to the impact of their blows. This was perfect, he would have some more fun with Gohan, and then use his grand finale to finish it once and for all.

He charged back at the Demi-Saiyan, and Gohan returned with full force. More punches and kicks were thrown, before Giku flew backward, and started firing a multitude of ki blasts at the young warrior. Gohan managed to deflect them all with both of his hands, the blasts landing him creating massive explosions, and separating the Z fighters even more. Gohan cupped his hands at the side of his waist and yelled out "KAMEHAMEHA!", quickly extending his hands, and firing off a blue mass of ki. Giku deflected the attack away from him, and it crashed into the Earth creating a massive explosion just behind him, illuminating his face in a very wretched manner. Both fighters charged back at each other, and began throwing punches and kicks wildly, occasionally backing off and using a ki attack. The entire forest area became lit with flames, and was soon nothing more than a barren desert wasteland as the powerful titans continued to clash with each other. Meanwhile Gohan remained unaware of Giku's plan to use the presence of the Z Warriors against him.

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Down below, the Z Warriors were slowly getting spread a part by each impact from Giku and Gohan's battle. Matters didn't improve any when a multitude of ki blasts came crashing down from the ground, increasing the distance between them with each passing moment.

"Shit!" Piccolo cursed, "We can't stick together if they ruin the entire landscape like this!" His eyes were wide, as it dawned on him exactly what Giku was trying to do. _'Oh no, he's doing this on purpose! He's planning to attack one of us to disadvantage Gohan!'_

Vegeta growled and his teeth gnashed together in a powerful force. _'Damn, what do we do now?!' _The Saiyan Prince thought. He also noticed how they were being separated, and a look of terror crossed his face. _'Crap! We're doomed, he's separating us for the intent of attacking us!'_

Krillin and Tien were too shocked to speak. They knew that the ensuing actions were detrimental to the success of their plan, however they could not tear their eyes from the amazing battle that was taking place up in the sky. Though they had crashed into the ground many times, it was evident that the two fighters preferred an aerial battle over a land battle any day of the week.

Goku looked at the battle with a sense of pride welling up inside of him. His son's power was incredible, no doubt the power that the two of them had worked on in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. However, at the same time he was also distressed, he knew that if this kept up, one of the two fighters would eventually give way, the problem was, why did it seem like Giku was going through such great measures to separate them? In an amazing display of an almost extinct intelligence, Goku realized what Giku's strategy was, as did Gohan, although they both noticed it a little too late.

"TIEN, GET OUT OF THERE NOW!" Goku yelled as a blinding flash of light came down towards the Three-Eyed warrior in a tumult, however a shadow got in the way of the attack, and although the explosive impact of the blast sent Tien flying backward, it didn't hit him in the slightest. Goku's eyes widened in horror when he saw who rose from the crater that the impact had left. There was no denying it now, they were all doomed at this rate.

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A low Groan came from Gohan as he slowly rose to his feet. It became apparent that the severity of his injuries had taken a toll on him. Unfortunately, the Z Warriors last Senzu Bean was used in the revival of Krillin. There was no plausible scenario in which they could help Gohan, lest they put the Guardian of the Earth himself at risk, as this was clearly no place for Dende to be right now.

"No you don't!" Goku yelled, and flared his aura up around him. He charged toward Giku with immense speed, however, when his fist connected, the young warrior barely moved an inch. Goku's eyes widened with horror, and a sadistic grin crossed Giku's countenance.

"Is that all?" He asked, before smashing a fist into Goku's gut, instantly breaking nearly every rib in his body, causing Goku to bend over in pain. Giku connected with a kick on Goku's back, and a bone shattering impact, Goku was sent hurdling towards, and crashing into the ground.

Giku turned around, just in time to see a blue mass of ki coming straight towards him. The blast impacted him directly, and created a powerful explosion. Everyone else on the ground turned to see Vegeta with his Super Saiyan aura surrounding him.

"Hah, take that, how do you like my Big Bang Attack?" The Prince spoke smugly.

"I'm not impressed." A ghostly voice said from behind Vegeta, and his eyes widened in utter terror. He barely had time to realize that he had been sent soaring through the air, and crashing into a rock, before a haziness closed over his eyes, nearly sending him into unconsciousness.

Gohan looked on in shock, two of the most powerful fighters in the universe had just been driven into the ground by Giku, and the others were staring in utter fear, wondering if he was going to come for them next. Giku however, turned around and looked at Gohan with a smirk on his face.

"I suppose it's time to end this, isn't it?" The ghostly voice of Giku spoke smugly.

Gohan's eyes widened in horror as Giku's red aura flared around him, and increased substantially in size. Giku brought his outward, and then moved them backwards before cupping them at the side of his waist, a large smirk on his face, and a small chuckle coming from his lips. Gohan's eyes remained in their horrified stage, unable to tear his eyes from the immense ki Giku was emitting.

_'No, no I can't do this, his power is too strong! I don't have enough left to give!' _Gohan thought, and that's when it happened, that's when a calm, velvet, and yet demanding voice contacted Gohan telepathically, causing his eyes to widen again in confusion.

_('**Young Gohan, do not fret over this, attack him with all your might, but be sure not to kill him. Trust me, you still have the power to win this.**')_

Gohan looked around confusedly, and wondered where the new voice had suddenly come from, before his eyes settled back on Giku. Suddenly, an air of confidence washed over him, and he knew only one thing. He had a mission to complete, and he was going to accomplish it, no matter what it took to do so, even if Giku had to be killed and then wished back with the Dragonballs, he would accomplish this task. With a renewed vigor, Gohan let out a loud scream, his aura surrounding him, and the lightning crackling around his body. Extending his one good arm outward, and cupping his hand up, he began the infamous mantra to his father's special attack, "KA..ME.!" A whirl of warm ki surrounded the Half-Saiyan, and though it was foreign to him, he knew it was the person that had contacted him only moments ago. He knew now what he needed to do. He needed to fight, until the very last bitter moment, until all of his energy was spent, and he was unable to go anymore. Only then, could he save what was left of the young boy known as Giku. As he thought this through, the voice contacted him one last time.

_('**You can do it Gohan, I know you can, and your father knows you can. We both believe in you, now save him, save him just like you saved the world against Cell a year ago.**')_

Gohan brought his hand down to his waist, and a blue light began to shine in it, and he continued the famous mantra of his father's attack, "HA...ME...!"

Goku had staggered back up to his feet, and held his hands over his broken ribs. He looked at his son first with shock in his eyes, however it was quickly replaced with a sweltering pride that arose from his heart. His son was going to fight with every last inch of breath in his body, and he was going to come out the victor.

Giku's smirk quickly turned into a leer, "This, is where it all ends!" He shouted out, and extended both his arms and hands outward. The blue beam suddenly launched from his hands, and rumbled across the ground, tearing dirt and debris as it traveled, heading straight in a bee-line for Gohan.

"HA!!!" Gohan shouted, and extended the one good arm he had outward, the blue beam of ki rumbling out from his hands, and shooting straight towards Giku's own Kamehameha. One thing was for certain in this battle, there would only be one victor, and the likelihood of the defeated person surviving was a slim to none chance. The two beams met in the center of their combatants, and collided with each other, creating a massive ball of light, with only a wavy line down the center signaling which beam belonged to which opponent. The final battle for the fate of Giku as well as the fate of the Z Fighters and Earth had now begun, and the only certainty of the outcome is that only one person would be standing when everything was said and done. As Gohan continued to push his beam, he felt the light pressure of a hand on his back, and the same telepathic voice that contacted him before, spoke to him again with final words of reassurance.

_('**Do not be alarmed, Young Gohan, if all turns out as it should, you will be united with Giku as a friend, this I guarantee you.**')_

Gohan's eyes narrowed sorrowfully. That was the one thing he wanted more than anything, to end up becoming friends with Giku when all this was said and done. With that thought driving him, Gohan willed himself to exert more ki into his blast. Slowly, yet steadily, his attack started to overpower Giku's, and the others watched with increasing exhilaration, it appeared as though Gohan would come out the victor. Though there is one thing the Z Warriors have forgotten, you should never underestimate the power of the enemy. Giku let out a loud laugh,and a burst of ki extended from him, starting to overpower the now injured Gohan. The Demi-Saiyan however, felt the reassuring hand stay with him, and the reassurance of the soft voice talk to him once again.

_('**Let it all out, Gohan, let everything go, do not worry, you will not destroy him, I guarantee you this. Just let it all go.**')_

Beyond the light of the colliding attacks, Gohan could see Giku falter for a moment as a ki blast hit him. Giku turned around to look, and his eyes widened as he saw the source of the attack, "What the?!" he exclaimed. Gohan looked over, and saw his father with his hands extended outward in a cupped form, however he was brought back to reality by the same voice as before, albeit a bit more demanding.

_('**Do it Gohan, now is your chance!**')_

Gohan's eyes widened, and a furious scream bellowed it's way from his mouth. He exerted every ounce of ki possible into the attack, and his attack immediately began to overpower Giku's own attack. Before Giku could even respond, he saw the blue beam of light come straight at him, and directly engulf him. A loud scream erupted from Giku as the blue light surrounded him, and he thought for a moment he could feel his skin being ripped away, however a protective warmth surrounded him at the last second, and kept his body from being utterly destroyed.

Gohan watched with intensity as the attack slammed straight into Giku, both distress and guilt feeling his mind, however he saw a light surround Giku, and keep his body from being destroyed. Gohan floated up in the air having demolished most of the ground below him. The last vision he took it was of Giku falling through the air into the ground, and the last sound he heard was the soothing voice that had coached him through the whole fight.

_('**Congratulations, Gohan, I commend you on a victory well fought. You and your father should be proud.**')_

With those words, unconsciousness started to claim the weary mind of the young Saiyan, one last thought running through his mind, _'Was that voice real, or an illusion created by me?'_ With that, darkness overtook the Demi-Saiyan completely, and he didn't even feel his impact with the hard and barren ground below him.

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**Author's Notes: **He-he-he. Another cliff hanger for you guys, but not to worry, the final chapter is coming out soon. Again, I do have a sequel coming up for this, and it will take place during the Buu Arc. That sequel will be titled 'Guardian of Light' a rather fitting title, and you will see why once the final chapter comes out. I suppose you're wondering who that voice is that showed up in chapter 12, and helped Gohan out here, eh? Well, you'll find out in the final chapter! The grand finale will be coming out hopefully on Sunday, so be ready for it!


	14. The Harbingers of Light

**Falling into Darkness**

**Chp 14**

**The Harbingers of Light**

**Disclaimer: **Sorry about the long wait, I had a lot of school stuff to take care of, and I still do really, so I had to postpone this until next week, however without further ado, I'm just going to go ahead and introduce you to the final chapter. As per usual, I do not own any of the characters in Dragonball, save for Giku and Shinta who I have created in this fanfiction, All other characters are owned by Akira Toriyama.

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Gohan's eyes began to fluttered open, and the haze cleared out from before them. He opened his eyes to see a man with red hair staring down at him. He pushed himself up into a sitting position almost immediately, and kind of backed away, however as he got a closer inspection of the man, he noticed that the man was a wearing a yellow martial arts gi, with black pants to match it. He had a red belt wrapped around his waist, and red wrist bands wrapped around his wrists. Upon further inspection, he noticed the man's blue eyes, and he realized this man had boots on that were very similar to the yellow and black texture of Android 16's boots, the man was even as tall as Android 16, and then it immediately dawned on him.

"Oh my gosh, you're Android 16, aren't you?!" Gohan asked with an astonished expression, the man merely smiled kindly at him.

"Yes, I am the being who was originally known as Android 16, but I now go by the name of Juro." The now soft yet velvet, almost human sounding voice of Juro spoke.

"Juro? I can sense your ki though, it's huge, almost as strong as Cell was!" Gohan exclaimed.

"Yes, it is, somehow the one known as King Yemma saw that Android 17 was repairing me, and had the Nameks use their Dragonballs to make me a human. Since then, I have learned to suppressed my power." Juro stated his story in a calm manner.

"Wait, where's Giku?!" Gohan asked in a worried tone.

"Do not worry Young Gohan, your friend is very much alive." The soft velvet voice he heard before spoke up. He turned around and immediately saw a sight that shocked him. A man with purple skin and silver hair was standing there, relatively short in his stature, and his ears appeared to be pointed. His eyes were slanted, but held the same coal black tone as Gohan's own. He appeared to have a blue royal vest on, with a red stripe that ran along the edges of it, as well as a red stripe that seemed to run in a pattern on the front of it. He wore a red gi belt around his waist that hung down to his side by a fair length, and underneath that was a lighter blue sort of clothing, including light blue pants, and to top it all off he wore Red Boots.

As Gohan stood up, and took a good note of his surroundings, he realized that he was standing on the middle of Kami's lookout. He could feel the other's ki inside, and knew that Dende must have healed him. He turned back to the purple man.

"You, I heard your voice earlier, but who are you?" Gohan asked.

The man smiled at him, "You may call me Shin, but I am actually known as the Supreme Kai."

Gohan's eyes widened at the pronunciation of the last two words, the Supreme Kai?! He'd heard stores of the Kais from his dad, and knew that there was a Grand Kai, but a Supreme Kai?! He didn't even think that was remotely possible. His musing was interrupted by the chuckle of the Supreme Kai, who preferred to be called Shin.

"Do not be alarmed, Gohan, my rank may preceed me, but my power certainly does not live up to it, you have proved that by surpassing me." Shin explained to him.

"Wow, I've surpassed you in power?!" Gohan gaped, but as he felt Shin's ki he knew it to be true, Shin himself wasn't much stronger than Piccolo with his weights off.

"So the sleepy bird has finally awoken, has he?" An amused, but light voice asked. Gohan turned around and stared with his mouth open. A near carbon-copy of himself stood in front of him, albeit his eyes held a much softer tone to them than before.

"Giku," Gohan stated in shock, unable to bring any more words out of his mouth.

"Gohan, I," Giku paused for a minute, trying to form the words he wanted to say in his head, then continued, "I wanted to thank you for saving me back there."

Gohan blinked a little bit, then smiled, "It's no problem, really, that's my job."

"No, really, I owe you life, and my brother's." Giku said again, in a polite tone, his eyes widened though when Gohan held out his hand.

"Friends?" Gohan asked genuinely, and Giku looked up to see the seriousness of his eyes. He reached his hand out and clasped Gohan's.

"Friends." He stated, in a genuine tone. "Your father's waiting for you inside, you're in for a real surprise."

Gohan blinked rapidly, looked at Giku who gave him a knowing look and nodded, and then immediately took off for the inside of the lookout. Giku gave out a small chuckle as he watched Gohan run inside the lookout.

"You've been through a lot, as has your brother." Shin stated in a calm voice.

"Yes well, I'm glad you took him to a safe place, if you hadn't there's no telling what I would have done." Giku looked back at the Kai in gratitude.

"Yes, his feelings were beginning to take ahold of him, I decided to take him to another place away from that island, then used your ki rings to seal his power. Just like his brother, he too seemed to be hit by that aura, however had it not been for you standing there, it would have affected him much more potently." Shin stated again in a calm manner.

"Yes well, I'll have to teach him how to control it, who knows, maybe he can become one of the top strongest." Giku chuckled to himself. He turned to look towards the sky, up towards the heavens. _'If you're watching, mom or dad, I hope you're proud of me, I'll become one of the new protectors of the Earth now. Thanks to Shin, I was allowed to keep my power despite the fact that the evil was driven out of me, so from now on I'll be doing the job of playing hero, just like you always told me I was destined to be as a kid.' _Giku thought to himself, and Shin smiled as he read the thoughts of the young warrior.

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"Daddy!" A voice shouted from the lookout, causing Goku to look up and see his soon running straight towards him. Gohan's eyes widened in amazement when realized a certain aspect of his father had disappeared. He no longer had a halo, this meant he was alive and well again! He ran straight towards his father in a beeline, and was instant seized in a hug. From the sidelines, the rest of the Z Warriors watched in silent respect at the reunited family members. Shin, Giku, and Juro had all walked into watch the reunion as well.

"Are you really, really alive?!" Gohan asked as though everything had been some sort of dream.

"Yes, Son, I'm really alive," Goku stated in his cheerful tone, and that was all the confirmation Gohan needed. He hugged his dad as tight as he possibly could, and Goku laughed both in pride and joy at the strength his son possessed.

"Oof, Son, take it easy, you're still a good deal stronger than me, you've been training secretly, huh?" Goku asked in a hushed tone, though he had an idea that Chi Chi probably knew, but decided not to make a big deal out of it. The only response he got from his son was a nod, as tears of happiness started to spill down the face of Gohan, and he choked back sobs, finally everything would become normal again.

"I guess if it hadn't been for us working in the background, you guys would have gotten nowhere fast," another smooth and velvet voice spoke up. Everyone turned around to see a young man with long black hair, blue eyes, and a scarf wrapped around his neck. He wore a black t-shirt with white underneath, and blue jeans to top that off. His socks had a green color to them with black stripes, and his shoes contained a blue color on the top, with white laces and white on the bottom.

"Android Seventeen!" Gohan exclaimed, and the Android chuckled lightly.

"This is the first time we meet, huh kid? I was astonished to hear you defeated Cell, I can believe it after seeing that Giku kid's power, I owe you for saving me." The Android stated coolly.

Gohan merely smiled at him, before he was lifted up into the air, and a loud laugh came from his mouth as Goku began flying him around like an Airplane. Giku watched with a sad smile on his face, he longed for the days that he and his father used to do the same exact things, although he knew he had to carry on with life, after all there wasn't any point to living with regret, his father had told him as much. He turned to look down at his little brother Shinta, who met his eyes with a lovely smile, and Giku could only return it wholeheartedly, then he grasped his brother's hand, and took them off to spend some quality time of their own.

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"W-w-what?! You met the kid who defeated Cell?! For real?!" A loud booming voice echoed throughout an incredible looking mansion that rested it's foundations in Orange Star City.

Inside the mansion, a man with an afro hair style and coal black eyes was staring down at the girl known as Videl. He had on a brown fighting gi that covered most of his torso and upper body minus the chest area, he also had white pants underneath the lower part of the gi. Wrapped around his waist was a white belt, and on his feet he had black boots with many white laces.

"Yes, daddy, I met him, sit down please and I'll tell you the whole story." Videl said in a calm tone. The man nodded numbly, and sat down to listen to his daughter's tale. Behind the man was a picture of him on the wall, with the words labeled 'Mr. Satan' underneath it. Videl proceeded to reiterate her tale, from how she first met Gohan in the park, to how they ran off to the house she had built herself, how a weird looking light had come from Gohan, how they had parted ways, how she later found him and this place called Master Roshi's island, which nearly sent Mr. Satan for a loop, and in addition how he went off to fight someone, and later ended up on a place called Kami's lookout. She also told him how she met the legendary Martial Artist known as Goku.

"You, went through all of that after running away?" Mr. Satan asked, shocked.

"Yup! It was exciting, and even better, Gohan wants to train me!" Videl squealed with delight.

Mr. Satan immediately caught onto his daughter's feelings for this boy, and felt a twinge of anger start to build up inside of him momentarily before he caught himself. This what was his daughter had wanted, a friend her own age who wouldn't think of her as being weird or something of that sort. He decided to let it slide, it might be too early for normal people to have relationships at his daughter's age, but his daughter certainly wasn't normal for her age.

"Videl, you know how I am about you hanging out with boys," Mr. Satan stated in a stern tone, causing Videl to stop momentarily in shock, however the big man erupted in a loud laughter, "However, I will allow it this time, only because you deserve someone who doesn't look at you like you're weird or out of the loop!"

"Oh really?! Thank you Daddy, thank you!" Videl exclaimed in pure joy, and Mr. Satan smiled, technically he didn't have a shred of evil or malice in his heart, and secretly he felt guilt for taking the fame as World Champion, but he realized that if his daughter had been considered weird, what would the lives of these people have been if they had been on prime time T.V instead of him? He had taken the place of their lives, and saved them from a massive publicity stunt, thus giving them a chance to live normal lives, and for that he would do this job a million times over.

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Gohan sat on the edge of lookout, staring into the sky that was around. He heard footsteps behind him, but he didn't need to turn around to know who was coming towards him. The foot steps stopped, and a hand clasped itself gently onto his shoulder, a small smile tugged at his visage.

"Hey dad" Gohan spoke gently yet firmly, he could always be himself around his father.

"How come you're not inside?" Goku asked his Son, sitting down beside him.

"I just needed to get away from the noise, to think for a little bit." Gohan replied softly.

Goku smiled at his kid, that was one of the things he admired most about Gohan, he would never be dishonest with his father. The kid had a loyalty to him, that much could be seen, however a pang of guilt washed over Goku as he looked down at the boy he called his Son. This person was no longer a kid, he had been forced to mature far too early, had seen things most adults couldn't even dream in their own nightmares, and yet through it all Gohan had retained the innocence of a kid. Now though, Gohan was beginning to outgrow the aspect of being child physically, his height had increased, his muscles began to get thicker, his chest was starting to mold itself outward, and even his personality had changed. Gohan was beginning to turn into a young man, and part of Goku felt as though he had been responsible for taking his child's life from him.

"Gohan I," Goku began, but stopped which caused Gohan to turn to look at him finally, and he noticed the sad look on his father's face, which surprised him since he rarely ever looked sad, but his father continued, "I wanted to apologize for a year ago, about making you fight Cell like that, and then leaving you behind, it was such a stupid decision, I should have thought it through mo-" Goku was cut off by a clasp on his shoulder, and he looked down at his son with wide eyes.

"Forget it, dad, what happened is what happened, it's all in the past now, it doesn't matter anymore, what matters is that we live for the future." Gohan stated in a matter-of-fact tone, and Goku blinked again, before letting out a little laugh.

"Sometimes I have to wonder if you're really my kid or not, because I wouldn't expect my kid to be so intelligent." Goku said with a smile on his face, and Gohan's countenance flushed, as he glowed in the compliment his father had given him.

"You know Gohan, I couldn't be more proud to know you're my son." Goku said with pride in his words, and Gohan looked up at him with wide eyes.

"You fought with everything you had down there, but you didn't do it because you wanted to, you did it to save the others, and Giku," Goku paused for a moment, looking down at Gohan as he smiled and continued, "I try to think of you all while I'm fighting, but a lot of the time I get lost up in the heat of the moment, and start fighting just for the sake of doing it, you however, you're a true hero, you're always thinking of others when you fight, even though you don't like fighting."

Gohan smiled at his father, before turning to look back at the sky, "I guess that's because I'm Half-Saiyan, I have a Human side to me, so that's probably what keeps me in check, however, you've always been my hero Dad." Goku blinked, and looked down at Gohan with shocked eyes, as Gohan continued, "Ever since I've known you, you've always been so strong, unafraid of a challenge before you, willing to tackle anything no matter what, that inspired me, I wanted to have the courage you did, and I realized in that fight back there that, I've had it all along, I just needed the right reason to bring it out. You have courage because you love to fight, and I have courage because I wish to protect. We're different in that respect, but we both have similarities in that we'll be forced to fight no matter what, in the end though, we're both harbingers of light." Gohan concluded his speech, having paused only a few times in between to take a breath. Goku smiled as his Son's words slowly started to sink in, and he turned to gaze out at the open sky as well.

"Harbingers of Light, huh? I like that title, I think it suits us." Goku said with a small chuckle, and Gohan followed in suit, leading up to laughter that lasted for a few seconds between the two of them. Silence followed suit for a few minutes, before Goku finally broke that silence.

"You know what's funny, in these few minutes we've spent with each other, I think we've learned more about each other than we did in the Time Chamber." Goku stated in a calm matter.

"Yeah, but that's what a Father-Son relationship is suppose to be, isn't it? We're suppose to be best friends to each other." Gohan stated, looking at Goku with a smile on his face, and Goku returned it in a warm manner.

"Yeah, that is what a Father-Son relationship is suppose to be." Goku replied in agreement with Gohan, and both of them laid back to stare up at the sky, enjoying the changing of the sky's colors as the sun slowly began to set in the distance.

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Giku and Shin stared down from an open window at the Father-Son duo that had currently been chatting outside at this point.

"Those two have contrasting dynamics, however, they will make a great team in combat, and in normal situations." Shin stated, Giku inclined his head in agreement with the Kai.

"They are most certainly an interesting set, you would almost believe they're fully human." Juro stated in his calm voice.

"In a way, they are, one just has the fighting instinct of a Saiyan." Giku admitted, more to himself than to the others.

Shin watched the Father-Son Duo with interest for a little while longer, before shortly turning his attention back to Giku, "You as well, you have someone to live for too, don't you?" Shin asked, a knowing look in his eyes.

Giku blushed lightly, and replied in honesty, "Well, yes, but, I don't know where she's located at right now."

"I'm sure you'll find her when you decide to go looking for her." Android Seventeen stated, walking up to the Trio, and Giku offered him a small nod and smile. All four people now turned their gaze back to the two on the lookout grounds. A knowing smile also crossed Giku's face as he looked at Gohan.

_'You have someone you want to live for too, don't you?' _Giku's smile grew as he thought this, and Shin wondered if maybe Giku caught onto the relationship between that girl Videl and Gohan. Things would be getting interesting from now on, but he knew this wasn't the last threat the others would have to face. They would see him again in seven years, to face the most difficult trial of their lives. For now though, they should all bask in the peace that the planet had to offer them. With that thought in mind, he turned around to walk back towards the celebration the others were holding, however, not before catching eyes with Giku, and giving him a curt, respectful nod.

_'He's like an angel with wings. One day, I might be able to help him master __**that **__power.' _Shin thought to himself, and then walked back into the midst of the celebration everyone was having.

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"Oh man! I'd better go see Videl, she's probably worried sick!" Gohan realized, and immediately jumped to his feet. Goku watched as his son ran towards the edge of the lookout, and he smiled, remembering when he and Chichi were once like that, only it was the opposite party member that ended up being the instigator of their fun times as kids.

_'This time,_

_I wonder what it feels like_

_To find the one in this life_

_The one we all dream of_

_But dreams just aren't enough_

_So I'll be waiting for the real thing_

_I'll know it by the feeling_

_The moment when we're meeting_

_Will play out like a scene_

_Straight off the silver screen'_

Gohan zoomed off the lookout in a flash of light, and made his descent towards the ground rapidly. He needed to let Videl know he was okay, but thoughts raced through his mind as he flew towards her ki. He wondered exactly what he would say when he got there, and how he would deal with the sudden temper tantrums she was prone to, much like his own mother was to be honest, it scared him, but at the same time he slowly found himself falling for her. Even though it had only been a day that they really spent together, Gohan knew she must have been worried to death about his own safety.

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_'So I'll be holding my breath_

_Right up til the end_

_Until that moment when_

_I find the one that I'll spend forever with.'_

Videl closed her eyes, leaning against the railing of the balcony outside her bedroom, and let out a depressing sigh. She wondered if Gohan had woken up yet, he hadn't come to visit her like he said she would, and she mused to herself on whether or not he had forgotten about her. Oh, how she would kill him if he did, that much was a promise to her, especially since she had asked him out on a date. She opened her eyes and looked up to see a faint light shimmering in the distance, and noticed that it was gradually coming closer to her. Immediately, she recognized it as Gohan, and her hearted soared to a new height, he hadn't forgotten about her after all.

_'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there_

_And everyone wants to feel like someone cares_

_Someone to love with my life in their hands_

_There's gotta be somebody for me like that.'_

As the light grew larger, the outline of a young boy started to come into her view. The appearance was definitely that of Gohan's, and without a doubt this was the young boy she had met not only a few days ago. He slowly started to descend for the ground, before he hovered just overhead of her, not quite close enough to be within speaking range, and she could tell he was thinking about exactly what he was going to say with her. She waited with anticipation coursing through her veins, this was the moment of truth which would decide how their relationship would play out.

_'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own_

_And everyone wants to know they're not alone_

_Somebody else that feels the same somewhere_

_There's gotta be somebody for me out there.'_

Thoughts rushed through Gohan's head as he tried to conjure up the words to say to her, finally realizing he had been hovering for the past two minutes, he lowered himself towards the ground, and floated just in front of her balcony, and he gave her a warm smile.

"Hey Videl, so, nice night, huh?" He asked almost timidly.

Videl let out a mild giggle at his nervousness, and then hardened her eyes, causing Gohan's to widen with surprise, "Gohan, you jerk! How could you leave me in the dark about your condition for so long?!" She nearly screeched at him.

Gohan jerked back in the air a little bit, "Hey, hey, calm down, I got caught up in a party they were having to celebrate my victory, that's all, really, I didn't forget about you, I'm here now aren't I?" Gohan asked, his hands up in defense, and a goofy grin across his face.

Videl sighed, and finally looked up at him with a small smile gracing her visage, "You know, I can never stay angry at you. Oh, and sure, we'll go for a walk, just help me down off of here."

Gohan rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, then grabbed her hand, he pulled her too him, and both their faces lit up in a blush. Gohan's arms had locked themselves around her torso, and he slowly floated them downward, until they were set on the ground. At this point he let go of Videl, and both of them turned away from each other blushing furiously.

_'Tonight_

_Out on the street_

_Out in the moonlight_

_And damn it_

_This feels too right'_

Gohan let out a deep sigh, and finally turned back towards Videl, "So, where do we go from here?" He asked, as if unsure about the dynamics of their current relationship. Videl's voice hitched in her throat as she heard those words. She hadn't even thought about that herself, where would their relationship lead to exactly? She didn't have the answers, but she turned back to Gohan and smiled at him.

"Why don't we find out, together?" She asked, and took his hand in hers, he looked at her, his eyes wide, before they calmed, and a smile graced his countenance, a nod being all he could give in a response.

_'It's just like Deja Vu_

_Me standing here with you_

_So I'll be holding my breath_

_Could this be the end_

_Is it that moment when_

_I'll find the one that_

_I'll spend forever with?'_

Gohan took Videl's hand, and they started to walk out of the yard, unaware that a certain afro haired man had spotted them. He said nothing though, merely smiling at the young couple walking out of the yard to head down the street, and he remembered back to the time when he met Videl's mother, and how he once spent his times with her in a similar fashion. To be young, in love, and completely irrational, those were the days he would love to go back to, unfortunately he would never see his wife again, and neither would Videl, for she had passed on to the next world sometime ago.

_'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there_

_And everyone wants to feel like someone care_

_Someone to love with my life in their hands_

_There's gotta be somebody for me like that.'_

Videl and Gohan continued walking for a little while, before Gohan gently jerked her in another direction. She noticed the sign that claimed this to be Satan City Park, and wondered why Gohan had dragged her here of all places though. That thought however, had been quickly catapulted from her head when she noticed the beautiful lake that was in the park. Gohan must had seen it as he flew into the city, and that was the reason he chose to bring her to this particular spot. He finally stopped at the edge, and sat down in the ground, motioning for her to take a seat beside him, to which she gladly obliged.

_'Cause nobody wants to go it on their own_

_And everyone wants to know they're not alone_

_Is there somebody else that feels the same somewhere?_

_There's gotta be somebody for me out there.'_

"Videl?" Gohan asked in a soft, tender voice, a voice he normally didn't use around someone else, and it surprised her slightly.

"What is it Gohan?" Videl asked, her face flushing again.

"Videl, is that date still up for an option?" Gohan asked her softly again.

"Yes, of course it is, it will be until you're ready." She replied in kind.

"How does, tomorrow night sound then?" Gohan's voice held the gentleness of a child in it as he spoke.

"That's sound great! I'll be ready!" Videl replied enthusiastically, then caught eyes with Gohan, and he stared back at her with an intense gaze she was sure she had never seen before. They continued to keep their eyes locked with each other, unaware that their faces were slowly moving closer together. Unconsciously, Videl reached a hand up, and cupped Gohan's cheek with it, their faces mere inches apart from each other, before Gohan finally closed the remainder of the distance, and their lips connected with one another. The kiss only lasted for a few seconds, but to the two involved, it seemed to be an entirety before their lips finally broke apart, both of them blushing.

"That was.." Videl started, but was unable to find the words to finish her sentence. Incredible, Lovely, Intense? She could not find the word to describe the situation that had just happened.

"Amazing." Gohan finished the sentence for her, and both of them looked at each other, a smile gracing their faces, before Gohan wrapped an arm around her, and pulled Videl closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder, both of them staring out into the open lake now, admiring the vast color of the sky, as it slowly changed from red to a dark blue color, the indicator that night was soon to come. Neither of them cared though, they had each other to depend on, to communicate with, but most importantly, they loved each other, and that was a fact that neither of them needed to announce in words, they could tell simply by the look in the other person's eyes.

_'You can't give up_

_When you're lookin' for_

_A diamond in the rough_

_Because you never know_

_When it shows up_

_Make sure you're holding on_

_'Cause it could be the one_

_The one you're waiting on.'_

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"Well guys, it's getting pretty late, I think me and Eighteen should be heading home about now." Krillin said.

Goku gave an inclination of his head, "I agree, we all should get going, shouldn't we?"

Giku also nodded, and turned his head to Juro and Seventeen, "You guys want to come with us?"

"I would be honored to." Juro stated in a calm voice.

Seventeen however, shook his head, "No thanks, I prefer to live as a Vagabond."

Giku smirked a little bit, "Suit yourself then, Shinta!"

The little guy known as Shinta came running up to his big brother, and Giku told him it was time to leave for the night. He also told Shinta that Juro would be coming with them, and introductions were made. Everyone said their goodbyes for the night, but not before Goku turned and looked at Giku to address him.

"Will we see you again?" Goku asked him.

Giku smiled and inclined his head once more, "Count on it, Gohan and I are friends now after all."

Goku smiled and nodded, and they all walked outside of the lookout. He turned to Piccolo, and bade him farewell, and placed his hand on Chi Chi's shoulder, before placing two hands on his forehead, and instantly disappearing from the lookout. The others all parted ways shortly afterward, flying off the lookout one right after the other, Vegeta being in a surprisingly good mood, and actually carrying Bulma and Trunks home himself, something that stunned the rest of the group, it was rare for Vegeta to be that nice, there had to be a catch to that.

Piccolo took one last glance off the side of the lookout, before turning to walk back inside for the night, no use staying outside in the cool air of the night, even if it didn't really affect him that much.

_'Cause nobody wants to be the last one there_

_And everyone wants to feel like someone cares_

_Someone to love with my life in their hands_

_There's gotta be somebody for me_

_Ohhhh.'_

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Gohan and Videl sat by the lake for what seemed to be hours. Finally, Gohan looked up and noticed that the sky was beginning to get black. Probably a good idea for him to start heading home right about now, he didn't want his mom to be screaming at him for being late.

"I should probably be heading home now Videl." Gohan stated bluntly.

"You're right, we both should get home, here, you can fly me." Videl stood up, as did Gohan, and he wrapped his arms around her torso again. They blushed, but this time it wasn't as noticeable as the last one. He flew her back towards her house, before slowly stopping at her balcony, and setting her down on it. They gazed at each other for a few minutes, soft smiles crossing both of their faces.

"Good night, Videl, I'll see you tomorrow night." Gohan stated, and she nodded genuinely. He took off to the skies, and flew back towards his house, leaving a white trail in his wake. Videl smiled softly, as she thought back to the first kiss they shared, by the lake no less. She shook her head gently, and walked back into her room, closing the balcony doors in the process. She turned to look back out the window, and a smile graced her face as she saw the glowing light fading into the distance.

_'Gohan, you sure are one interesting person.'_

The years that followed their relationship down the road were sure to be interesting, and Videl just couldn't wait to see what tomorrow night would bring. Life had begun anew again, not only for her, but for the young man known as Giku as well.

_'Nobody wants to go it on their own_

_And everyone wants to know their not alone_

_There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere_

_There's gotta be somebody for me out there.'_

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Giku tucked Shinta into bed, and smiled as he noticed the young boy already fell asleep.

_'This day was taxing on him as well, huh?_ Giku mused to himself, before turning and walking out of Shinta's room. He slowly closed the door behind him, but not before whispering a good night to his younger brother. Walking out into the living room of their house, he noticed Juro was sitting there, looking out the window. The tall, but gentle giant turned his gaze to younger boy before him.

"Do you think you'll go looking for her?" Juro asked Giku.

"I don't know, Juro, it depends on whether Koharu wants to see me again or not." Giku replied in response.

"You will never know for sure, if you don't go though, she's still waiting for you isn't she?" He asked again.

A small smile graced Giku's face, "Yeah, I remember when I met her two years ago, we shared a lot of fun times, made a lot of messes, and upset all the grownups in the area," Giku paused, smiling at the fond memories, "Six months after that, I had to leave though, so she told me she would be waiting for me, she said she knew I would come back and visit her. I suppose that day will happen soon."

Juro gave a small nod towards the young man, and grinned at him, "Sooner than she'd hope probably."

Giku gave off a small laugh, "Who knows, these next few years are going to be some interesting times for sure."

Juro gave a small inclination of his head, and both fighters turned to gaze at the night sky, one thought running through both of their minds. Wherever life would take them now, they would rise to face any challenge set before them. As Gohan had stated to his father, they were all harbingers of light, giving hope to a world that needed it most.

_'Nobody wants to be the last one there_

_(What you're looking for)_

_'Cause everyone wants to feel like someone cares_

_(You never known)_

_There's somebody else that feels the same somewhere  
(Start holdin' on)_

_There's gotta be somebody for me out there.'_

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**Author's Notes: **Here it is folks, the grand finale of 'Falling into Darkness' Again, I apologize for how long it took to update. I've had an honor writing this story, and I'll be damned sure I'm going to have an honor writing this sequel. A little FAQ time.

_Who is Giku's special other?_

Named only as Koharu, she's someone Giku met in a village two years ago. Over their times of pulling pranks, they slowly grew onto each other and became really close friends. Giku's feelings have developed over time, but until now he's never had a means of tracking her. More details about their relationship will be revealed in the sequel.

_Why did you bring Android Sixteen and Seventeen back?_

I chose to bring them back, because I think they are unappreciated characters, and I feel as though they deserved to have a spot in the story. It is a little farfetch'd for Sixteen to be wished as a human by the Namekian Dragon thanks in part to Yemma, but I needed a way for him to be human since he was the most human character I knew. The name Juro comes from his actual Japanese name, Juurokuagou I basically shortened it.

_How were they working in the background?_

Juro is the one who actually knocked Krillin out, and the one who took Shinta. To where the location was exactly is only known to the minds of Juro, Seventeen, Supreme Kai, and Shinta. Android Seventeen actually helped because he rebuild Sixteen, who later became Juro. Not long after this, they met the one known as Supreme Kai, who explained to them the situation. They agreed to lend a hand, and Seventeen helped Sixteen carry Shinta to the secret place they took him. Again, the exact place is unknown, but it's believed that Shinta saw the future of his relationship with his brother, and all his fears were quelled.

_How did Seventeen find Sixteen?_

Seventeen was a Vagabond who happened to be wandering place to place. He came across a person who mentioned that the Cell Games took place near their area. He set off in search of that area to face the memories that haunted his past, only to come across the technological pieces that made up Android Sixteen. Picking up the mainframe - the small piece that we saw left behind which ultimately died out - Seventeen took it back to an abandoned laboratory he had found along his journeys, at which point he rebuilt Android Sixteen, and later had him wished as a human, courtesy of Yemma who saw the good deed, and realized the only way for Sixteen to live a normal life was as such. Seventeen had the chance to become a human as well, but refused it, stating that his sister would also refuse such a wish.

_Why did you choose to end the story like this?_

I needed to provide grounds for a sequel, and I thought ending it with Giku would be a much better note than ending it with Gohan, seeing as how this story mostly established Giku as a character.

_What will the sequel be about?_

The sequel will take place during the Majin Buu saga. It will be called "Guardian of Light" in which Giku discovers that he has a mysterious set of origins, and he is actually adopted. Around this time, the infamous villain you all know as Majin Buu shows up.

_What is 'that power' that Supreme Kai talked about?_

In reference to the above, Giku has a mysterious origin about him, and he learns that he was actually adopted. Supreme Kai will help to master the power that his 'real' family left behind for him.

_Who is Giku's real family?_

No one knows for sure, but based on what Shin said, he seems to have relations to beings known as Angels, which are also of my own creation.

_When will the sequel debut?_

If it's not out within the next two weeks, it will be out before the end of next month, hopefully spring break will provide me some opportunities to churn out a good story.

If you guys have any more questions, please send them to me, and I will be glad to answer them. By the way, a big credit goes out to the song _Gotta Be Somebody _by Nickelback, which I used as my ending theme. Thanks for reading guys, it's been great, I'll see you when the sequel debuts.


End file.
